In the first nine months of 2025, almost 1,500 criminal proceedings were opened in Ukraine under Article 301 of the Criminal Code, which concerns the import, production, sale and distribution of pornographic materials. This is 13% more than in the same period last year. Opendatabot reports on such dynamics, citing data from law enforcement agencies.
It is particularly telling that almost half of all cases were opened in just two months — in January and March. Article 301 of the CCUA is distinguished by one of the highest levels of suspicion: in 95% of proceedings (1,424 cases) suspicion has already been reported, and 81% of cases (1,215) have been referred to court.
The state spends significant resources on examining 18+ content. According to the estimates of "Economic Truth", 4.9 million hryvnias were spent on such examinations during the three years of full-scale war. On average, an expert who reviews materials with possible pornographic elements receives about 500 hryvnias per hour of work.
Against this backdrop, the State Tax Service has begun sending letters to content creators on platforms like OnlyFans, urging them to declare their income and pay taxes. This has sparked concern among models who fear that legalizing their income could automatically lead to criminal prosecution under Article 301.
Despite individual cases where digital content creators have challenged fines in court — and even won (at least three such decisions have been found), the problem remains unresolved. The issue of possible decriminalization of Article 301 of the Criminal Code is key for this industry, as the current legislation allows for a very broad interpretation of “pornographic materials,” which creates risks for the content industry.
