It’s not looking good for your favorite Swedish Onlyfans content creator or webcam model.

The Swedish government has proposed a major expansion of its current sex work laws that would criminalize the purchase of sexual acts performed remotely via digital platforms, including cam sites, subscription services, and custom content sales.

Announced as part of a broader legislative package to strengthen criminal protections, the proposed changes would amend Sweden’s existing law against buying sexual services—long a hallmark of the so-called “Nordic model”—to include “remote” or digital sexual acts conducted without physical contact.

If passed by the Riksdag, Sweden’s Parliament, the law would come into effect on July 1, 2025.

The current Swedish framework criminalizes the purchase of sexual services but not the sale, positioning itself as protecting sex workers while targeting demand. Under the proposed revision, anyone who pays to watch or request sexual activity online would be subject to the same penalties as if the act had occurred in person. This includes webcam shows, subscription-based platforms like OnlyFans, and custom-request videos.

The measure also expands liability for “procuring”—raising concerns that platforms or even partners of sex workers could be considered complicit.

The proposal has sparked strong opposition from digital sex workers in Sweden, who say the law would criminalize their legal, independent online work and potentially force platforms to ban Swedish creators to avoid legal exposure.

Swedish cam model and content creator Cara, known online as ScandiDreamgirl, said she and her colleagues fear being excluded from platforms entirely: “If this law takes effect, we stand to lose our entire livelihoods overnight. Lawmakers claim this is meant to protect us, but how is forcing us into poverty, isolation, and legal jeopardy a form of protection?”

OnlyFans performer Sanna Zentio told TV4 in Sweden, “It feels like the politicians don’t really understand what we are working with digitally or actually doing. Many of us work very independently, safely and legally.”

Another creator, Cina, told SVT that her work online provides a level of personal safety: “It’s my safe place. I can do my work without meeting people.” She said she would consider leaving Sweden if the law passes.

The legislative proposal is part of a broader bill aimed at reinforcing Sweden’s criminal code. Other components include:

• Stronger legal protection for children against sexual abuse, including those with disabilities or mental illness.
• Expansion of the crime of procuring to include facilitation of remote sexual acts.
• Inclusion of gender as a recognized basis for hate crime sentencing enhancements.
• Harsher penalties for fraud targeting the elderly or vulnerable, especially in cases deemed systematic or exploitative.

The revised language would change “purchase of a sexual service” to “purchase of a sexual act,” a semantic shift that reflects the broadened scope of criminal liability. The bill also provides prosecutorial tools to investigate digital transactions, potentially targeting both buyers and facilitators, including partners, roommates, or collaborators.