This image is not directly related to the article. [Getty Images Bank]
This image is not directly related to the article. [Getty Images Bank]

Ukraine, now more than four years into its war with Russia, is pushing to legalize its online adult content industry — long banned under Ukrainian law — as a way to raise money for the war effort.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Ukrainian parliament is reviewing legislation that would ease criminal penalties for producing adult content. Unlike most other European countries, Ukraine prohibits the production, distribution and possession of adult material, with convictions carrying sentences of up to seven years in prison.

Yaroslav Zheleznyak, chair of the parliament's finance committee, described the situation as "tragicomic": those who declare income from adult content effectively confess to a crime, meaning they face punishment either for tax evasion if they do not report earnings or for violating adult content laws if they do.

The controversy grew after tax authorities obtained data on Ukrainian users' earnings from Phoenix International, the British parent company of OnlyFans. The figures showed that 7,900 Ukrainians earned a combined $131 million through the platform in 2023 alone.

[AP]
[AP]

Zheleznyak, who co-sponsored the bill, estimated that taxing the industry could generate up to $25 million in annual tax revenue — enough to purchase roughly 30,000 combat drones.

The bill passed its first parliamentary vote on July 14 with 231 votes in favor and is now awaiting a second reading. It would decriminalize the production and possession of adult content between consenting adults, while leaving intact existing provisions against child sexual exploitation, human trafficking and prostitution.

The push for legalization gained momentum after OnlyFans model Svitlana Dvornykova filed a petition on the presidential website in June last year calling for decriminalization, following a police raid on her home. She said she had paid about $900,000 in taxes and argued that the government should thank her for her tax contributions rather than treat her as a criminal.

Iryna Mosiichuk, who runs a broadcast studio in Ukraine, said she currently pays about $5,000 in taxes each month and argued that legalization would allow her to increase that amount twentyfold.

The growing number of content creators relocating abroad or streaming from outside the country to avoid legal penalties — and the resulting loss of tax revenue to other nations — has also factored into the debate over reforming the law.


dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com