OnlyFans drops its sexual content ban, Shopify and TikTok partner up for a new shopping experience, and Amazon’s crackdown on fake reviews is affecting Chinese sellers.
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It’s all the tech news that’s trending right now, welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Thursday, August 26, and I’m your host, Jori Negin-Shecter.
OnlyFans Drops Planned Porn Ban, Will Continue to Allow Sexually Explicit Content from technology
OnlyFans has backed off their plan to ban sexually explicit content just days after their initial announcement. According to reports from Variety, the company originally announced the ban on explicit content to comply with requests from its banking partners and payout providers. On Wednesday, OnlyFans said it secured assurances necessary to support its diverse creator community, indicating that the company had reached a new agreement with the banks. On August 24, the CEO of OnlyFans blamed banks for the ban on explicit content saying that some of the banks were not allowing OnlyFans to pay its content creators. Some have indicated, however, that the company may be backing out of the ban due to the criticism they received from OnlyFans creators. Many creators said the ban targetted sex workers who rely on the platform to support themselves, with some creators already having left the site for different platforms.
Shopify is elevating its partnership with TikTok, launching a new in-app shopping experience. According to The Globe and Mail, TikTok users will soon be able to make purchases directly in the app. The new service will allow certain Shopify merchants in North America and the U.K. to add a shopping tab to their profiles and tag products available for sale in TikTok posts. The move is ultimately an expansion of an already existing 10-month partnership between the two companies. Notably, this will be the first time TikTok has enabled a selling feature directly within their app. TikTok follows Instagram and Facebook as major social media apps with an in-app purchasing experience.
Amazon (AMZN) Cracks Down on Fake Reviews, Hitting Chinese Retailers from technology
Lastly, Amazon’s crackdown on fake reviews is targeting Chinese sellers. Bloomberg Businessweek reports that until now, many Chinese sellers offered discounts and cash to buyers willing to write good reviews. While Amazon initially encouraged this behaviour given that it increased purchases, the company has since changed its tone, with concerns that users are writing disingenuous reviews strictly to reap the rewards. As such, Amazon has begun to crack down on fake reviewers in an effort to keep product reviews honest. Subsequently, Chinese industry observers say that Amazon has begun to suspend retailers and freeze their inventory abruptly at its U.S. warehouses. On the whole, the crackdowns have resulted in over 50,000 Chinese retail accounts losing their place on Amazon’s platform. Additionally, Bloomberg Businessweek reports that there have been complaints that this crackdown is only targeting Chinese sellers, however, Amazon has rejected accusations that it is unfairly punishing sellers.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. Make sure to sign up for our Daily IT Wire Newsletter to get all the news that matters directly in your inbox every day. Also, catch the next episode of Hashtag Tendances, our weekly Hashtag Trending episode in French, which drops every Friday at 3 pm. If you have a suggestion or tip, please drop us a line in the comments or via email. Thanks for listening, I’m Jori Negin-Shecter.
