We know OnlyFans as a huge video streaming website predominantly in use by online sex workers.
The site has been credited with making millionaires (from users' subscription fees) and giving sex workers a proper platform to earn big, legal money.
But complications rise up when sex workers on the platform live in countries where the profession itself or the act of making pornographic videos is outlawed, especially a concern in relatively conservative nations across Southeast Asia.
So when police in Thailand arrested popular OnlyFans content creator Kai Nao and her boyfriend Korakot, Thai social media erupted.
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19-year-old Kai Nao (also known as Sukanya) and 20-year-old Korakot were nabbed together at a hotel they had been staying at in the country's capital, Bangkok. The couple faces a slew of charges, namely the production and distribution of 'obscene' content.
Making matters worse for the couple is the high likelihood of a three-year prison sentence and a hefty US$1,800 (THB 60,000) fine.
But Thai activists and social media users are up in arms, condemning the police for ignoring the real crimes taking place in the country, like corruption, rape, murder, and theft.
One Thai Twitter user puts it very neatly, juxtaposing the fact that police arrested some sex workers who earned their money legally, on a legal platform with proper identity verification processes in place, but seem to let go of or even shield rapists and force their victims to accept 'compensation'.
Simply searching the hashtag #NongKaiNao on Twitter will lead you to thousands of tweets demanding for actual justice, not misguided arrests based on outdated and conservative laws.
“Here I am in a country that sees filming sex for a certain group of people as a crime,” said another Twitter user reacting to the arrest. “But those who commit corruption and attempt murder can get away with it.”
The couple had allegedly violated Section 14 (4)(5) of Thailand's heavily-contested Computer Crime Act, which allows for a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine of up to US$3,000 (THB100,000), or both. Kai Nao also faces accusations of encouraging others to engage in 'inappropriate' sexual activity.
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Cover image sourced from @Thairath_News / Twitter and Vulture.
