Webcam Work: Policies, Practices, and Platforms presents a comprehensive view of the webcam industry, a growing sector of online sex work where performers livestream erotic or sexual content to viewers via digital platforms. Though many webcam workers value the flexibility, autonomy and income the job can offer, the researchers found their working conditions are often precarious and poorly protected.

Powerful actors, little accountability

A key finding is that webcam platforms are not just websites - they are workplaces. However, these platforms set rules without consulting the workers they profit from. Payment intermediaries like Visa and Mastercard also enforce strict rules about what content is allowed, often without considering performers' safety or financial wellbeing.

‘These financial companies have become de facto regulators,’ says researcher Rébecca Franco. ‘They control who gets paid and what kind of content is allowed, but without any real accountability to the people doing the work.’

This top-down regulation creates an unequal playing field, the researchers say. Platforms can change policies without notice, punish performers for clients’ behaviour, or suddenly ban accounts — all while taking 35–65% of performers’ earnings.

Invisible labour, visible inequality

The researchers looked at five major platforms, including Chaturbate and LiveJasmin, found extreme income inequality among performers. On Chaturbate, for example, over two-thirds of all viewer tips go to just 10% of streamers. Most earn far below minimum wage - if anything at all.

‘Webcam platforms create a winner-take-all economy where a small group thrives, while the majority struggle with low visibility, small audiences and unpredictable income,’ researcher Emilija Jokubauskaitė explains.

This inequality is made worse by opaque algorithms that decide who appears on the front page and gets the most viewers - decisions that are hidden from performers and made without their involvement.

Stigma and social barriers

Beyond platform issues, the report also documents how stigma around sex work impacts performers’ daily lives. Researcher Hanne Stegeman interviewed 67 performers in the Netherlands, the UK and Romania. Many described feeling isolated, being denied banking services and facing threats with little protection from law enforcement.

‘Even when facing blackmail or harassment, performers often don’t go to the police out of fear of being blamed or ignored,’ Stegeman says. ‘The stigma around sex work makes people more vulnerable.’

Recommendations for change

Despite the challenges, many performers interviewed expressed pride in their work and shared creative ideas for improving conditions. Building on their insights, the report makes several recommendations:

• For platforms: Make rules clear, stop punishing workers for client behaviour, offer fair pay, and involve performers in decision-making.
• For financial companies: Include sex worker voices in policy-making, and be transparent about how rules affect workers.
• For policymakers: Recognise webcam work as work. Decriminalise sex work, ensure equal access to financial services, and address algorithmic labour inequality.
• For civil society: Support sex worker-led organisations and challenge stigma in media and policy debates.

‘This research shows that online sex work is real work,’ the authors write. ‘It’s time the industry - and society - treated it that way.’