The number of criminal proceedings for pornography in Ukraine increased by 13% in a year - report

In Ukraine, 13% more criminal proceedings for pornographic content have been registered than in the same period of 2024. The key issue for representatives of the digital adult content industry is Article 301 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

This is stated in the Opendatabot report, as reported by UNN.

Details

This year, 1,498 criminal proceedings were initiated under Article 301 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which deals with the import, production, sale, and distribution of pornographic materials. In the same period last year, 13% fewer proceedings (1,320) were initiated.

According to data from open data monitoring in Ukraine, 95% of proceedings related to "adult" content already have suspicions. It is also recorded that 81% of them are in court.

Reference

The production and distribution of pornographic content in Ukraine is prohibited. According to media reports, an active examination of such content is underway in Ukraine.

At the same time, the norm is not combined with the regulation of tax payments for income received from 18+ content.

The State Tax Service sends notifications to representatives of platforms like OnlyFans with a call to declare income, which at the same time causes concern among the latter. Models and creators fear that declaring will automatically lead to criminal proceedings.

The main risk for representatives of the adult content industry, lawyer's comment

In Ukraine, Article 301 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is in force, its decriminalization has not been resolved - as long as this norm is in force, any content can be interpreted ambiguously.

If OnlyFans models and creators are ready to declare their income and pay taxes at the request of the Tax Service, this should not automatically become a reason for initiating criminal proceedings under Article 301, believes lawyer Lesia Mykhalenko.

of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. After all, platforms do not transmit, and the State Tax Service does not analyze the content, but only sees financial receipts. In particular, on the same OnlyFans, content of any nature can be posted - not necessarily erotic. There are, for example, fitness trainers, teachers, bloggers, musicians. Even a math teacher can run an educational blog.

The specialist notes that "formally, the risk of falling under the article after paying taxes exists." But it does not arise due to the fact of declaration.

This can only happen if, during the inspection, investigators find specific 18+ materials that they qualify as pornographic.

Recall

In July, it became known that the idea of legalizing pornography in Ukraine caused a lively discussion in society. The initiative received a new wave of attention after a petition by OnlyFans model Svitlana Dvornikova, which collected over 25,000 signatures.