A U.K. parliamentary group has published a report calling for the outlawing of commercial livestreaming platforms and the criminalization of "e-pimping," a term used to describe individuals facilitating or profiting from the livestreaming of pornographic performances by another person. The report, titled "Only Exploitation," argues that webcamming platforms perpetrate harms against women and children and cannot be made "safe."

The report was released on November 10, 2026, by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Commercial Sexual Exploitation. This development follows the United Kingdom's recent enforcement of a ban on certain pornography categories, which carries financial and criminal penalties. The U.K.’s Online Safety Act currently treats livestreaming similarly to other adult content, subject to scrutiny by media regulator Ofcom. The "Only Exploitation" report condemns this approach.

Calls for Criminalization and Ban

The APPG on Commercial Sexual Exploitation, an informal caucus of members of Parliament, advocates for the total prohibition and criminalization of online camming and "e-pimping" within the United Kingdom. The report specifically targets the multi-billion-dollar live camming sector and identifies OnlyFans as a platform of concern, mentioning it 50 times. OnlyFans is owned by Fenix International Limited, based in London.

MP Tracy Gilbert, who chairs the APPG on Commercial Sexual Exploitation and is a co-author of the report, stated that "The webcamming trade is a magnet for exploiters." Gilbert added that "These e-pimps style themselves as legitimate ‘managers’ and agencies, yet they exert sexual coercion and control over the women they recruit and profit from." She also said, "Webcamming platforms are currently treated in policy and regulation like ‘regular’ pornography websites, but they are different. The activity is performed live; by definition, it cannot be pre-screened to prevent against the creation and distribut."

The report characterizes paying a cammer to engage in sex acts with another person as "prostitution." This echoes Sweden’s 2025 ban on purchasing sexual services performed remotely by streamers and custom content creators. A similar measure was proposed in the French National Assembly earlier this year but did not advance.

The nonprofit advocacy organization UK Feminista serves as the Secretariat of the APPG on Commercial Sexual Exploitation, providing administrative and organizational support. UK Feminista is credited with providing research and resources for the 40-page report.

Identified Harms and Risks

The "Only Exploitation" report identifies five main harms perpetrated against women and children via webcamming platforms. These harms include sexual coercion, intimate image abuse, security and privacy risks, offline sexual exploitation, and child sexual exploitation. The report argues that the live, interactive nature of these platforms carries unique risks and that they financially incentivize sexual exploitation and abuse.

The report asserts that the risk of being subject to sexual coercion in webcamming is "acute." It states that "The webcamming trade acts as a magnet for exploiters. Individuals and organisations keen to profit off men paying women to perform personalised pornography coerce young women into the trade, control their activities and threaten them if they attempt to leave." Such coercion, the report contends, can come from agencies, managers, studios, and viewers. The report reads, "The sexual coercion can come in the form of pressure, manipulation, deception or force. It can result in women performing sexual acts on camera that they do not want to do, and feeling (or being) unable to leave or say no to sexual requests and demands."

Additionally, the report calls webcamming platforms a "stepping stone" to offline sexual exploitation and argues that livestreamed content "cannot be pre-screened to check for the inclusion of criminal offences — including child sexual exploitation."

Broader Legislative Recommendations

Beyond livestreaming, the report also calls for Parliament to require all sites accessible in the U.K. to enable individuals who appear in adult content to withdraw their consent to its continued publication, at any time and for any reason. Such a provision, which would have invalidated talent contracts, was originally included in the Crime and Policing Bill enacted earlier this year but failed to make it into the final law.

In lieu of that provision, an amendment required the Secretary of State to conduct an overall review of sites’ age and consent verification procedures and then present the results to Parliament within a year. The law also gives the Secretary of State new powers to intervene on this issue and potentially regulate sites’ age and consent verification duties without further authorization by Parliament. The report calls upon Parliament to enact that provision "to its fullest without delay."

While the report is not an official government publication, it could potentially influence legislators. The report cites the influential 2025 "pornography review," which eventually led to the criminalization of depictions of "non-fatal strangulation" as well as sexual content in which adults portray underage characters.

Key Facts

  • The U.K. Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Commercial Sexual Exploitation published a report on November 10, 2026, titled "Only Exploitation."
  • The report calls for banning adult livestreaming platforms and criminalizing "e-pimping."
  • MP Tracy Gilbert, chair of the APPG, stated that "The webcamming trade is a magnet for exploiters."
  • The report identifies OnlyFans as a platform of concern and mentions it 50 times.
  • The report lists five main harms: sexual coercion, intimate image abuse, security and privacy risks, offline sexual exploitation, and child sexual exploitation.
  • UK Feminista, a nonprofit advocacy organization, served as the Secretariat for the APPG and provided research and resources for the report.