Digital Technology and Sex Work

With the rise of OnlyFans, online camming, and digital labour transformations post-COVID-19, this book captures a defining moment in sex work and the gig economy. This book offers an up-to-date reflection from academic research (usually involving the sex work community, sex worker peer researchers or academic-sex worker led) on the current trends in how the sex industry across the globe is organised and operate through digital technologies. Reflecting on how this trend has gathered pace over the past twenty years with no evidence of this changing, the authors explore a range of different elements of the digital online commercial sex industries from a range of actors perspectives. The nature of this expanding platform labour is examined through the lens of sociologists, criminologists, political scientists and geographers to bring new research and commentary to light which helps us understand how the sex industry has changed. The book explores the provision of sex work in the online world building on our knowledge of how sex workers `do' sex work; it looks at the under-explored area of sex purchasing; how street based sex workers use technology and the working practices and attitudes of online sex workers. This book directly engages with contemporary policy issues, ethical dilemmas, and regulatory frameworks related to platform governance, online safety, and labour rights. It appeals to academics, policymakers, practitioners, and digital rights advocates.