The Better Regulation Delivery Office BRDO continues its series of materials on court rulings under Article 301 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which criminalizes pornography. This initiative is part of the campaign supporting Draft Law No. 12191. The latest analysis examines a court ruling in Dnipropetrovsk region, where a man was sentenced to one year of probation for managing an OnlyFans account.
The defendant from Kamianske did not produce pornographic materials himself. He uploaded short videos to the OnlyFans platform on behalf of a model who created them. This is a common practice in the adult content industry—administrators manage accounts and communicate with customers, while models create photo and video materials. However, administrators and content creators risk criminal liability under Article 301 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The defendant reached a plea agreement with the investigation and was sentenced to three years of imprisonment, replaced by a one-year probation period. The court also prohibited him from disseminating any information online for a year and from holding positions in the IT sector. Additionally, two of his smartphones were confiscated. The court likely believes that access to devices and work in IT could lead the defendant to resume distributing pornography.
“Confiscating gadgets for managing an OnlyFans account appears to be a hidden fine, in addition to probation and professional restrictions. This only reinforces the injustice of the verdict. We live in a surreal reality where people are criminally prosecuted and socially isolated for intimate photos or videos,” commented Dmytro Lebedyev, an expert in BRDO’s ICT sector.
According to the State Judicial Administration, between 2022 and 2024, special confiscation measures in pornography-related cases were applied to 20 convicted individuals, and in 2025, seven such cases have already been recorded. The most commonly seized items include smartphones, laptops, or money earned from adult content. Confiscating smartphones effectively acts as a hidden fine since the convicted person will need to purchase a new device.
In the third year of the war, law enforcement and judicial authorities continue to spend resources prosecuting Ukrainians for intimate photos and videos instead of focusing on real threats—collaborators, enemy informants, and terrorists.
BRDO, along with several civil society organizations, opposes the criminal prosecution of Ukrainians for producing and distributing pornographic materials. In November 2024, Draft Law No. 12191, which aims to decriminalize pornography in Ukraine, was registered in parliament. At the same time, BRDO supports stricter liability for the production of child pornography, distribution of materials to minors, public display of pornography, human trafficking, or sharing adult content without consent.
BRDO has launched the Telegram channel “301 Monitor” to track court rulings under Article 301 of the Criminal Code. It publishes AI-generated case summaries.
According to BRDO’s forecast, the decriminalization of pornography could generate UAH 509 million in tax revenues for the budget. To achieve this, Draft Law No. 12191 needs to be adopted, ensuring cooperation between the State Tax Service and the Bureau of Economic Security.