Project 2025 and OnlyFans creators: what was proposed and how to plan

Project 2025 is a US policy blueprint, not a law. Creators watched it closely because its foreword argued that pornography should be outlawed, and because rules about online adult content have tightened before. This post, written in October 2026, explains what the project proposed and how to plan for regulatory change in general. It does not track which proposals have been acted on since; check current federal and state law for that. It is not legal advice.

What Project 2025 proposed

Project 2025 was a policy program led by the Heritage Foundation, a US conservative think tank. Its central document, "Mandate for Leadership", published in 2023, set out proposals for how the next conservative administration should run federal agencies. Its foreword argued that pornography should be outlawed.

Two things are worth keeping in mind:

• A proposal is not a law. Changes to what is legal come from legislatures, regulators and courts. Read what has actually been enacted, not only what was proposed.
• It is one source of pressure among several. Payment processors, app stores, hosting companies and the platforms themselves all set rules that affect creators, often faster than lawmakers do.

Why creators took it seriously

Creators had seen this pattern before. After FOSTA-SESTA became US law in 2018, many websites and payment providers restricted adult content broadly to reduce their own legal risk, even for consensual work between adults. Since 2023, age-verification laws for adult websites have taken effect in a number of US states, and in June 2025 the US Supreme Court upheld Texas's law in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton.

The practical effect of changes like these is often indirect: a platform tightens its policies, a payment provider changes its terms, or a site stops serving a region. Creators, and LGBTQ+ creators in particular, have raised concerns that broad definitions of "pornography" could reach content well beyond explicit material.

Plan for change

You do not need to know which rules will change to reduce your exposure to them. These steps help in any case:

1. Do not rely on one platform. A second platform where your niche has an audience means one policy change cannot end your income overnight.
2. Own a direct line to your audience. An email list or your own website, with fans' consent, keeps you reachable if a platform or social account changes.
3. Keep copies of your own content. Store your originals in a secure place you control, with backups.
4. Keep clean records. Earnings statements, contracts, consent and verification records. They matter if you ever need to move platforms or prove your history.
5. Build a financial buffer. Savings for a few lean months give you time to adapt instead of reacting.
6. Separate your business identity. A business email, payment details and, where possible, a business entity reduce the impact of a change on your personal life. Ask a qualified professional which structure fits your situation.

Follow each platform's rules closely

When rules tighten, the creators who adapt best are the ones already following the existing rules carefully. Read the Terms of Service and acceptable use policy of every platform you use, and check them again when they announce updates. If you are unsure whether something is allowed, ask the platform's support before you post.

Stay informed through reliable sources

• Read primary sources: the text of bills and enacted laws, court decisions, and the official announcements of platforms and payment providers.
• Follow organisations that track these issues, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (digital rights), the Free Speech Coalition (adult industry) and sex worker-led groups such as Hacking//Hustling.
• Talk to other creators. Peer networks often spot a policy change before it reaches the news.
• For questions about your own situation, speak to a lawyer who works with creators.

For agencies

If you manage creators, include regulatory risk in your planning: diversify where it makes sense, keep records organised, and talk openly with creators about what you are watching and what you would do if rules changed. Calm, early conversations are better than urgent ones.

The pitch. Regulatory risk is handled with records, backups and a second platform, not software; Inflowwww keeps its SQLite database on your own server, so it can go in the same backup as your records. Deploy it yourself.