Judge dismisses Meta, OnlyFans ‘blacklisting’ class action

By Jessy Edwards | October 2, 2024

Category: Facebook Class Action Lawsuit and Settlement News

(Photo Credit: charnsitr/Shutterstock)

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article included incorrect information regarding the status of this case. It has been updated to reflect the correct status.

Update:

A California federal judge dismissed claims Meta blacklisted adult entertainers from their social media sites while conspiring with OnlyFans to boost the popularity of the video-on-demand service.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup determined the trio of adult entertainers behind the class action lawsuit failed to produce evidence to support their claims.
The plaintiffs accused Meta of demoting or removing OnlyFans links the adult entertainers posted on Facebook and Instagram by including the performers on lists of dangerous individuals or organizations.
In an earlier version of their complaint, the adult entertainers claimed Meta accepted bribes from OnlyFans; however, they withdrew those claims.
Judge Alsup previously dismissed claims against OnlyFans owner Fenix International Ltd. and related entities after determining there was no California connection.
The complaint had been scheduled to go before a jury in mid-October.

Facebook, OnlyFans collusion class action lawsuit overview:

Who: A group of professional adult entertainers are suing the owners of Facebook and OnlyFans.
Why: The entertainers say the companies illegally reduced their visibility on social media to force them to work exclusively through OnlyFans.
Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.

(Feb. 24, 2022)

A group of adult entertainers are suing the parent companies of Facebook and OnlyFans, alleging employees in the companies colluded to harm the businesses of adult entertainers who do not advertise through the OnlyFans platform.

The plaintiffs, three adult entertainers, filed the class action complaint against Meta Platforms, Inc. and Fenix Internet LLC Feb. 23 in a California federal court, alleging a scheme to give preferential treatment to adult entertainers who use OnlyFans.

UK website OnlyFans is best known for hosting pornography. It has grown hugely in recent years, and lets users share video clips and photos with subscribers in return for a monthly fee.

According to the plaintiffs, Facebook and OnlyFans orchestrated a scheme through which they caused adult entertainment performers associated with OnlyFans’ competitors to be “blacklisted” by certain social media platforms for the purpose of reducing competition with OnlyFans.

Facebook, OnlyFans shared adult performer database, class action says

The blacklisting process was accomplished first internally at Instagram and Facebook when social media content of adult performers promoting rival websites to OnlyFans was placed on a database of extremist material shared between tech companies, the lawsuit says.

According to a recent BBC article, Meta says it investigated but found no evidence the shared hash database had been abused.

“Meta did not say the scheme did not happen, just that it found no evidence of it and therefore the claim had no merit,” the class action says. “This case is about a corrupt business gaining an enormous advantage over its competitors by wrongfully manipulating behind-the-scenes databases, and in the process, harming thousands of small entrepreneurs who rely on social media to promote sales of their product and earn a living.”

The plaintiffs say the collusion has “systematically and methodically damaged or destroyed” the businesses of many competing adult entertainment platforms and the performers who use them.

The class action seeks to represent all adult entertainment providers who suffered economic injury due to the alleged scheme.

The plaintiffs are suing for tortious interference with contract, intentional interference with business relationships and violation of the unfair competition law.

Earlier this month, Facebook agreed to pay $90 million to resolve decade-old claims it unlawfully tracked its users’ internet browsing activity even after they logged out of the social networking platform.

What do you think about these claims of collusion? Let us know in the comments.

The adult entertainment performers are represented by David Azar of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC.

The OnlyFans Meta class action lawsuit is Dawn Dangaard, et al. v. Instagram LLC, et al., Case No. 3:22-cv-01101, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.