Prospects for amending the legislation of Ukraine on the legal regulation of sex work in the digital space and Ukrainian OnlyFans. Interview with Ihor Samokhodskyi (BRDO)

Today we are talking to Ihor Samokhodskyi, Head of the ICT Sector (Information and Communication Technologies) at the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO). Ihor leads a team of experts working on state policy in the field of electronic communications in Ukraine, the IT industry, open data and virtual assets, as well as relevant European integration processes. Igor Samokhodskyi was a member of the EU assessment mission on Ukraine’s integration into the digital market.

[Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO) - is a leading independent think tank in the field of economic regulation with a focus on implementation. The office was established in 2015 as a non-governmental non-profit organization to assist the government in carrying out medium- and long-term economic reforms to improve the business environment in conditions of political instability.]

‘Legalife-Ukraine": Igor, we welcome you to our portal! It is a well-known fact that Ukrainian sex workers raise money for the country’s defense by selling nudes on social media. As of July 2024, at what stage of discussion with the authorities is the bill on decriminalisation of nudes in social networks?

Igor Samokhodskyi: Draft law 9623 has been inactive for almost a year. We are not aware of any consultations held during this time on the basis of the responsible Verkhovna Rada Committee or any other work of the Government or Parliamentarians. That is, the draft law is registered, but there is no movement. This is a common situation for draft laws when the responsible committee is unwilling to take the initiative. Interestingly, along with the main bill, a number of MPs submitted a bill that, on the contrary, increases responsibility in a number of ways. This one also get stuck.

This ignores not only the draft law, but also the successful petition of 2022 for the decriminalisation of porn. https://petition.president.gov.ua/petition/146438

‘L-U: How might the situation with the regulation of nudity be affected by a formal update to Twitter’s (X) policy?

I.S.: It will not directly affect regulation. But we may see an increase in the number of criminal cases against Ukrainians. Twitter (X) users will be able to spread nudity, and they will be prosecuted in Ukraine. Unfortunately, we are waiting for more sentences for reposting on Twitter (X).

‘L-U: What are the main obstacles in discussing the draft law today?

I.S.: The main obstacle is the unwillingness of the members of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Law Enforcement to support decriminalisation. The draft law was initially registered by more than 20 MPs from different political parties. But without support from the Committee it cannot move forward. As for the discussion, we also see no actions aimed at discussing the problem or the draft law by parliamentarians. At the same time, we see an increase in the number of criminal cases https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/adult-content-2024-5

In the current political situation, the leadership of the President’s Office could help to move the initiative forward, but so far, we have not seen such a desire.

Igor Samokhodskyi (Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO))

‘L-U: What additional advocacy actions do you think can help accelerate the adoption of new laws in the field of public health and decriminalisation of sex work?

I.S.: We have seen considerable resistance to the initiative, despite the broad support of civil society organisations, including volunteers and the military, as well as MPs of different parties.

It would be useful to enlist the support of international partners so that they, in turn, demand this from Ukraine as part of their reform plans. But the topic of decriminalisation of porn or sex work is sensitive in terms of media reactions, and it will be difficult to achieve. On the other hand, we need to work systematically with the media to highlight the problems that criminalisation creates. Society should better understand how much resources our state spends, how many Ukrainians receive sentences for sending nudes, how many taxes the state does not receive, etc.

‘L-U: What are your immediate plans for advocating for changes in legislation?

I.S.: We are planning to intensify our work on covering current criminal cases, verdicts, and statistics of prosecutions. In the near future you can expect new analytics from us on Articles 301 and 302 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding the practice of their application.

‘L-U: What do you think of the initiative of Ukrainian sex workers to develop a domestic analogue of the OnlyFans platform, which would allow more funds to be allocated to the country’s defense budget?

 I.S.: As long as we have adult voluntary porn criminalized, we should not expect the development of technologies or official businesses related to adult content in Ukraine. We will continue to observe only the unofficial work of web studios, etc. Ukraine has put an end to the official development of this industry, which would pay taxes and attract investment. Technology and advanced businesses will continue to develop in the US, EU countries, and other countries where porn is not criminalized.  Ukrainians will continue to work in the shadow market mode, producing content without paying taxes and without creating IT platforms. Of course, this can be changed by adopting draft law 9623, but as we have already discussed, the prospects for this are unclear.

"L-U": Thank you for the conversation!

The interview: team of the “Legalife-Ukraine”