Image source, Getty Images
- Author, Chris Vallance
- Role, Technology reporter
Sex toys and many other erotic items are banned from the online marketplace Etsy, leading to outrage from sellers.
From July 29, objects that, when modeled, expose body parts such as female nipples or the cleft between the buttocks will also be banned.
Etsy, which focuses on handmade, vintage and artisanal items, said new rules for sales were being introduced due to “changing industry standards”.
Affected vendors have told the BBC they feel let down by the policy change and expect their income to plummet as a result.
“As creators who made Etsy what it is and have been loyal to their platform for years, we feel betrayed,” said Anna (who preferred not to give her last name), founder of Simply Elegant Glass, a sex toy company.
Etsy said the ban is intended to protect users and reflects trends across the industry.
“We carefully crafted this policy with the goal of continuing to encourage creative expression and the spirit of our marketplace, while taking into account the changing standards in the industry,” Etsy’s Alice Wu Paulus wrote in announcing the changes.
In many countries, there is pressure on platforms, sometimes backed by new legislation, to do more to prevent under-18s from coming into contact with explicit content, and to remove illegal or ‘harmful’ content from their platforms.
Payment processors are also increasingly reluctant to work with platforms that facilitate sex-related commerce.
However, Anna suggested that these concerns could be addressed by more clearly labeling and separating the listing of adult products on Esty. She argued that Esty had “neglected content filtering tools in favor of outright bans.”
She also defended the products she makes, saying she has focused on making glass products for adults since 2015. She learned to blow glass 18 years ago and said she focused on it “as a means of artistic expression.”
Anna said a large portion of Simply Elegant Glass’s orders were generated through Etsy and moving to another platform, like Shopify, felt like “starting over.”
The company posted an open letter on Etsy on X (formerly Twitter).
A Czech-based seller of high-end silicone sex toys, who declined to give his name, said many businesses that rely on Etsy would see a “significant drop in revenue.”
“This means many people have just 30 days to find a new job, as self-driven traffic to a standalone website may not be enough,” the salesperson told the BBC.
For people who are forced to look for a job, it will be difficult to find other work, as “listing ‘sex toy company’ on your resume when looking for a job can close the door to many employers,” the seller said.
Mike Stabile of the Free Speech Coalition, a campaign group that advocates for porn industry rights, accused Etsy of implementing “sweeping site-wide censorship” in a post on X.
Some sellers welcomed the changes and voiced their support for them on Etsy forums, but they also raised questions about how the new rules would be enforced.
Sex accessories
The tightened policy outlines which types of products are prohibited and how permitted “adult” products should be presented.
Examples are also given of sex toys and sex accessories that are acceptable, such as restraints, handcuffs and ‘sex furniture’.
The rules include a ban on:
- Sex toys designed to be inserted into the body
- Pornography, including old magazines and adult films
- Using human models to display an item, if body parts such as genitals, ‘butt cracks’ or female nipples are visible
- Advertising sexual services such as altered photos and videos that contain nudity
- Some non-photographic art that involves explicit nudity and the context is sexual – such as depictions of a sexual act
This isn’t the first time Etsy’s policy changes have sparked negative reaction.