What do the laws surrounding the purchase of sex look like in Sweden?
It is not allowed to buy sex in Sweden. On the other hand, it is allowed to sell sex. According to the new law that is now coming into force, it will continue to be allowed to pay for pre-recorded material, but it will become illegal to influence the content - such as paying someone to perform a certain sexual act.
What is changing?
The internet has also changed the procedure regarding the purchase of sex and the adjacent area of porn. Whether porn is filmed abuse or voluntary sexual expression has historically been a long debate, but with sites like Onlyfans, consumers of porn have been able to order content in a different way than before.
Paying specifically for content in the style of "I want you to do X with Y" will now be punishable. On the other hand, you can still subscribe to a specific person's content and watch it, as long as the content is not tailored to a specific person.
Why is the change good?
Advocates point out that it will now be uniform and clear what applies in Sweden. What is illegal in the physical world will be illegal in the digital world as well. The law prohibits promoting or economically exploiting someone to perform a sexual act remotely for payment and is also expected to counteract the digital becoming a "gateway" to prostitution.
Why is the change bad?
Critics point out that those who produce content on, for example, Onlyfans are caught in a legal dilemma. A relative who knows that their partner "sells sex" via Onlyfans could potentially be convicted of pimping. Others mean that the law risks becoming toothless because there is nothing to prevent a creator from asking their "fans" what they want to see and specializing in that type of content, thereby circumventing the law.
