Adult entertainment side hustle questions are nothing new to ClearanceJobs. While sexual behavior is a SEAD guideline you should be familiar with, the new online platforms where users are creating their own profiles and āsellingā their own created content add new potential pitfalls for the security clearance holder.
A subscriber to the ClearanceJobsBlog has an enlisted āfriendā who has a question about the website OnlyFans:
āI have a worried enlisted friend that decided to make an OnlyFans account. (You know the site where people post self-made adult content and people can view for a set subscription fee). Now from what I know itās nothing illegal, but the question was brought up, would it affect the individualās security clearance that is going to need to be reviewed in 2 years? Currently this person has made a whopping 0$ but given time Iām sure that will change.
Does this need to be revealed during a security clearance? Can they lose their job for having this? Is having this āside hustleā a bad mark on a background check?
Thanks again for the help! I asked my local security clearance rep at work, but he had no answers, so I guess Iām the first to ask this question.ā
SEXUAL BEHAVIOR GUIDELINES
One investigator on the blog suggests reading the adjudicative guidelines, specifically Guideline D (Sexual Behavior) and Guideline E (Personal Conduct). This will give security clearance holders an idea of what is disqualifying and what will be mitigating.
The concern is sexual behavior that involves a criminal offense, reflects a lack of judgment or discretion, or may subject the individual to undue influence of coercion, exploitation, or duress. These issues may raise questions about an individual’s judgment, reliability, trustworthiness, and ability to protect classified or sensitive information. Sexual behavior includes conduct occurring in person or via audio, visual, electronic, or written transmission. These are all concerns that could occur with someone creating an OnlyFans account.
BLACKMAIL
Blackmail is not just how your family would feel about the account, but also how potential employers would view it if it comes up, and if it would worry you with losing your job if someone disclosed it to your boss.
For the majority of people, the worst that happens is that the images fall into the wrong hands, resulting in an shakedown or the recent phenomenon of ārevenge pornā. These are horrible outcomes, but it could potentially get worse when a condition of your employment is maintaining the federal governmentās trust.
CYBERSECURITY CONCERNS
OnlyFans members should also consider the involvement of a webcam and subscribers from all over the world having the ability to look into your home and interacting with the user/entertainer. That could open up the floodgates to foreign influence along with foreign contacts (good luck asking your FSO if you need to report your ‘fans’ on the SF-86).
Like with all other social media platforms, OnlyFans creatorsā accounts could easily be hacked and their content leaked online.
According to ClearanceJobs contributor Christopher Burgess, this avenue would follow in the footsteps of what the Arabs have been doing the with Israelis data apps and other social networking apps: preying on the fact that users donāt always know the person they’re engaging with. Depending on what your sharing, the risk could be the same as the Ashley Madison case, the massive 2015 hacking attackĀ that publicly exposed the websiteās member identities online.
āA government employee or contractor, be they in the military or civilian, would be well advised to run their side-hustle up the flagpole of their employer and cognizant security authority prior to engaging in said activity,ā Christopher Burgess notes. āThe advice doesn’t change because it’s OnlyFans, the keyword is “any” outside activity. In this manner, the individual knows before going forward that they have all their approvals in hand prior to embarking on the outside activity.ā
FINAL VERDICT?
The person who does not submit an outside activity report could run into huge issues if they create an OnlyFans account. With permission, clearance holders are allowed to get second jobs, but each organization has different policies.
Some lifestyle rules to live by when it comes to OnlyFans and being in the military or holding a clearance include not misusing government systems for these activities and self-reporting side hustles/foreign contacts, among many other rules. Most of these violations are obvious, and you should avoid them at all costs so as to not jeopardize your clearance status. If you are guilty of any of these offenses by mistake or on purpose, reporting them immediately could make the difference in keeping or losing your clearance.
All in all, keep in mind that your information could become more public then you intended. Once itās posted, your anonymity is toasted.
