Russia Announces New VPN Law That Could Complicate Camming

In 2017 Russian camguys & studios found streaming on certain camsites to be difficult following their government banning the use of VPN's. The law at the time wasn't very successful but with the situation in Russia deteriorating further a newer version of the law will come into effect March 1, 2024. The new law will block VPN's allowing access to websites prohibited by the government, this failed before so we'll have to wait & see how far they are willing to go to actually do this.

Russia is planning to ban VPNs from being used to access blocked sites. If this works it will further restrict people's ability to access information, but it’s questionable whether government censors would be able to carry out the block successfully. https://t.co/142RXy6P3K

— Top10VPN (@top10vpn) October 4, 2023

Here are links to a few CamGuyNews posts on Russia's attempts at banning VPN's in the past, & the dangers studios could face as one large camguy studio was raided...

CGN Post: Russia Banning Camsites (081618)

CGN Post: Russian Cam Studio Raided (101221)

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Top Earning OnlyFans Creators Hearing From the IRS

I came across this article posted in a adult industry forum & thought it was something worth sharing with our readers who are camguys or content creators.  The other night I heard a new camguy on Chaturbate act surprised when a viewer told him he'd better hold back money when cashing out to pay his taxes.  It's important that all camguys & content creators have an understanding of tax laws on their revenue streams or which of their business expenses are deductible or not.  What is described in this article isn't just for OnlyFans this could happen to content creators or camguys on any site.   

OnlyFans Creators Have Been Contacted In IRS Criminal Investigation, Tax Professionals Say https://t.co/xq6muEPZJA

— Forbes (@Forbes) December 16, 2022

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New Anti-LGBT Russian Law & Camguys

Recently the Russian parliament passed a law further prohibiting any type of "LGBT propaganda".  This includes "any action or information that is considered an attempt to promote homosexuality" in public, online, films, any print, or advertising.  The law states punishment for this could include fines of $6,600 for individuals who violate the law & $82,000 for entities.  Law enforcement will be able to 'interpret the law broadly' based on the situation due to how the law is written.

This all leads to the question of how will this effect webcam studios who are employing camguys & independent camguys too?  Many camguys from Russia have already dealt with backlash due to the war in Ukraine & conscription recently led hundreds more to flee their home country.  If all this wasn't bad enough now those who remain will have something else to worry about including large fines & lengthy prison sentences based on a broadly written law.  

Russia's parliament approved a bill that widens a prohibition of 'LGBT propaganda' and restricts the 'demonstration' of LGBT behavior, making any expression of an LGBT lifestyle almost impossible https://t.co/HnxFtWztI5 pic.twitter.com/NUiQBbTKme

— Reuters (@Reuters) November 24, 2022

Russia’s parliament has passed the third and final reading of a law banning “LGBT propaganda” among all adults, the bill criminalises any act regarded as an attempt to promote what Russia calls “non-traditional sexual relations”.#VoiceOfNations pic.twitter.com/rHcXIx4htz

— Voice of Nations (@VoiceOfNations7) November 25, 2022

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Camsite Member Reactions to Russian Camguys

There have been different reactions toward Russian Performers broadcasting on Flirt-4-Free & Chaturbate due to the situation in Ukraine.  Some members on each of these camsites want performers broadcasting from Russia banned while others argue that it is not the performers fault this is taking place so members should stop harassing them. This post appeared on the Flirt-4-Free Male Chat Forum Tuesday (now removed)...   

Russian camguys on Chaturbate have also been hearing such complaints from viewers on that camsite.  Some have changed their location on their profiles or their studio has done it for them in hopes of stopping these reactions.  Below are parts of a thread from the Flirt-4-Free VIP Forum showing differing opinions on this situation...

I am not in favor of editing profiles due to this situation as it has been done both ways with some claiming to be from Ukraine even.  The comment from 'NYStingRay' isn't correct as taxes are paid & the industry falls into a grey area within Russian laws on pornography.  So what do you think about this situation?  Leave a comment below...    

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Status of Russian & Ukrainian Camguys

CGN has been receiving messages from camguys & camsite members about the status of Russian camguys on camsites.  CGN has reached out to 3 camsites & 2 have replied stating they currently have no plans to block broadcasters based in Russia from using their platforms.  I do believe they could be blocked however if they are unable to send payments to their broadcasters from Russia due to sanctions.  A Russian camguy CGN has featured on the blog is telling us "many payment systems refuse to work" so this is something to keep an eye on, but for now nothing is changing.

I also read that Twitter is no longer working inside Russia but found this isn't the case for all Russian camguys.  Camguys in Russia attempting to access the Twitter website aren't having much luck but they are able to use the Twitter app.  From what I can tell Instagram is still up & running as many Russian camguys are using the service.  Keep in mind they likely will be careful with their posts & replies as the Russian police are randomly stopping people the streets scanning their phones for dissent of any type.

CGN has also received reports of camguys located within Ukraine that are attempting to broadcast still.  If you find their rooms consider stopping to give them support with kind words or tokens/credits.  A reader sent a message the other night that he was in a Ukrainian camguys chat room & heard air raid sirens going off so if they need to leave quickly please be understanding.  Below is a tweet from a group of camguys currently in Ukraine trying to make it through this horrific situation...  

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Romanian Camguy Studio Sold & Russian Cam Studio Raided by Police

Followers of camguys from Romania & Russia have probably heard the rumors about a couple of studios in these camming hotbeds.  The comment below was left recently in the Flirt-4-Free Male Performer Chat Forum regarding Aphrodite Boys Studio (ABS) in Bucharest.  A source tells CGN he is certain the studio has been sold to another cam studio, possibly Studio20, but he wasn't for sure on that.  You might recall recent posts on this studio (link) struggling to pay their camguys their earned commissions over the last several months with one camguy confirming he hadn't been paid in nearly a year!

Many of their camguys have been able to gain control of their Flirt-4-Free accounts & are now independent (no studio affiliation) camguys.  As of last night the studio was still operating with at least one of their camguys seen in a known studio room.  Once more details of this situation become known we will share them with followers of their camguys... 

Recently a CGN reader left a comment in our CGN Readers Forum regarding a police raid in a prominent St. Petersburg, Russia cam studio.  CGN has been able to confirm through a camguy that Studio Contour was raided on September 27th & said he hopes everyone who was there at the time was fine.  One camguy who was broadcasting that day & was recently featured here on CGN hasn't returned our messages or those from another follower he regularly communicates with.  We hope that he is okay along with other friends of CGN who potentially were caught up in this raid & hope to hear from them soon.  

In reading about past studio police raids the studio owner usually pays a 'bribe' to the police & all is well.  There have also been cases where models caught up in a raid have been detained until they agree to testify against the studio owner & management.  The reader also said all computer equipment was removed which will provide information but hopefully all video evidence was stored on the camsites server & not on the studios server which might be helpful to their models.  We will provide updates on this should we learn more so followers of this studios camguys stay tuned.   

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Camguys Selling Access to Social Media

Recently the trend of camguys charging for access to their social media pages has been on the rise.  Many webcam summit events have been teaching performers this is a way to open up new revenue streams capitalizing on their popularity.  On Chaturbate I am seeing camguys charge tokens for monthly or lifetime access with the amounts ranging from 1 token to 250 tokens or sometimes even more.  The problem with this is many of the camguys using this strategy have little to no following & are setting themselves up for failure rather than using social media correctly to help grow their following. 

Social media platforms like Twitter is one camguys should never charge for since it is widely used & easy to grow a following on.  Twitter also allows the account owner to include links to their camsite chat room, OnlyFans page, personal blog site, etc.  Other social media platforms like Snap Chat for example a camguy could use as a premium account & charge tokens to access the account while giving followers a different level of access to the camguy.  This way the camguy could use Twitter to offer information about his shows to the masses & then a premium account for those who want more.   

CGN has also witnessed a group of Chaturbate users instruct camguys to not promote themselves on social media & not to make such accounts publicly known.  Instead they are instructing camguys the only promotion they need is for their OnlyFans account & it should only come from their chat room.  One camguy who actually bought into their strategy regularly complained of little growth on his OnlyFans account despite having good viewer numbers on Chaturbate.  This strategy clearly sets camguys up for failure & no camsite or industry events suggest doing this either.  

I wouldn't ever consider paying for access to a camguy's social media as that is how he should be alerting me when he'll be online or is online.  If I want something more than a regular chat room experience I'd just take the camguy into a private show.  What do you think of camguys charging for access to their social media?  Share your thoughts on this in the comments section below...  

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Support For Our Colombian Friends

CamGuyNews stands with our Colombian friends during these trying times & hopes you are all safe.  My thoughts & prayers are with you!

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A Decade With Chaturbate Award Winners Announced

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A Decade With Chaturbate Awards Update & A Question

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A Decade With Chaturbate Awards

The finalists in the Decade With Chaturbate Awards were announced in each category by the camsite.  In total their are 24 categories for voters to cast their votes in ranging from Male Broadcaster of the Decade to Moderator of the Decade.  Votes may be cast through February 12th.  Below we have listed a few of the categories with camguys as finalists...

Male Broadcaster of the Decade: Johnny Stone, Shane Hall, Khokhol1999, Colby Knox, Callum & Cole, Hardworkertn, Pony_Pinkie_Pie, Tiny-dancer0107, Hot8Pack01, Twinkzz101

Lovers of the Decade: Twinkzz101, Colby Knox

Cosplay of the Decade: Shane Hall

Creative Webcam Show Visionary: Leo_West96, TomChristianCB

Python of the Decade: Johnny Stone, About_The_Bulge, MrCooperXXX, Colby Knox, Codgod69, Twinkzz101, Pony_Pinkie_Pie, Leo_West96

CamGuyNews wishes all of the nominees the best of luck in the Chaturbate Awards & once the winners are announced you will find them here.

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2021 GayVN Award Winners Announced

The 2021 GayVN Awards took place virtually Monday evening.  The event this year included a few camguy only specific categories unlike other adult industry events that have eliminated camguy only categories as of late.  Below are the winners & nominee's from the camguy categories...

Favorite Camguy Winner: Max Konnor (Cam4)

Other Nominee's: Liam Jacobs, Steve Rickz, Dylan Green, Johnny Stone, Garrett Radivan, Ethan Joy, French Huge Cock, Brody Biggs, Bryson Jace, Leo West, Thony Grey, Zac Star, Devon Adam, Destroy Boy, Matt Kayd, Booty Devine, Camran Mac, Rob Ryder, Tyler Rockhard, Nick Soul, Kenneth Wade, Jakub Stefano, Michael Walker, Shane Hall, Jared Nation, Croy Klein, Cal Reynolds, Cheston Stone, Chris Aron, & Jaden Storm.

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Favorite Cam Couple Winner: Jacob & Harley

Other Nominee's: Callum & Cole, Kaden & Tyler Hylls, Colby & Mickey, & Ryan Carter & Digger.

Congratulations to all the winners in the 2021 GayVN & especially the camguys who won or were nominated.

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Worldwide Studios & Covid-19

Webcam performers continue to deal with changes in their work schedules due to the Covid-19 Virus. As you can imagine webcam performers who broadcast from studios coming & going in shifts each day isn't the best way to contain the virus. Performers in Russia, Colombia, & Europe are all learning to cope with new guidelines as to how/when/if they will be working in their studios.

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St. Petersburg, Russia is under a mandatory lock-down but studios in the city are finding ways to remain open allowing performers to keep broadcasting.  Castalia Studios decided to allow many performers to live at the studio so they could broadcast & earn money during the lock-down.  Other studios are also giving their performers this option while many other performers will be broadcasting from home if their situation allows them to (overview).

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Colombia is also under quarantine through April 13th with many performers in the country also staying at their studios or broadcasting from home if possible (overview).  In Romania a quarantine is also in place but it is less restrictive as it allows studios to remain open as residents are allowed out for work (overview).  For any studio that is located in the United States (there are various types) they received bad news recently as they aren't eligible to apply for disaster relief for small businesses as it excludes the adult industry/sex workers (overview).

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If you are missing one of your favorite performers don't rush to conclusions as they may not be able to broadcast during their particular countries quarantine or lock-down time period.  CamGuyNews hopes everyone stays safe & healthy during these difficult times.

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2020 LAL Expo Award Winners Announced

The 5th annual 'LAL Expo Awards' were held February 20th in Cali, Colombia.  The event is part of the Latin American Adult Business Expo which is now in its 7th year of hosting shows in Colombia.  The shows primary focus is on the Latin American market but everyone in the adult/webcam industries were encouraged to take part.  Below are the winners in several categories of interest...  

Best Male Cam Model: Dorian Lux
Best Overall Camsite: Chaturbate
Best European Camsite: Strip Chat
Best North American Camsite: Cam4
Best Tipping Camsite: Bonga Cams
Best Private Camsite: Flirt-4-Free
Best International Camsite: Bonga Cams
Most Professional Studio: Interaction VC
Best Colombian Studio (Antioquia): VMAC

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CamGuyNews congratulates all the winners in the 2020 LAL Expo Awards event & wishes the performers up for awards in next weeks Live Cam Awards (LCA's) the best of luck.     

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California State Employment Law "AB5"

Late in 2019 CGN posted on a new California state employment law which could bring changes to webcam performers living in the state (link).  Up until this new law webcam performers had always been considered independent contractors on the camsites in which they perform on.  Such a law could potentially put many California webcam performers in the dark if webcam performers aren't exempt which could lead their camsites to let them go rather than change their whole model of doing business for just for California residents.  Here is the latest on what has been established regarding California residents...   

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All webcam & porn industry performers don't meet the "ABC Test" which would allow them to be considered independent contractors going forward as they previously had been...

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A. The person is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity (camsite/studio).

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B. The person performs work that is outside the normal course of the hiring entity's business.

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C. The person is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business.

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Any California resident who creates & sells digital clips on a site such as "Only Fans" are exempt from AB5.  All camsites still wishing to employ any California resident as a performer will need to classify them as "employees" meaning they must be paid minimum wage, overtime, take required breaks, & receive all other benefits required by the state.  AB5 is retroactive to April 2018 so any performer who was active is eligible to make claims for lost wages including portions of tips their camsites kept.  Will camsites continue to hire residents of California or will they discontinue hiring residents & let go of their current performers?  Let us know if any of your favorite performers have been affected by AB5.   

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California State Employment Law "AB5"

Big changes could be coming for your favorite webcam performers who reside in the state of California. The states new AB5 employment law may cause camsites to to cease working with residents of the state of California. Webcam models are independent contractors on camsites currently but AB5 would require that any California resident would become an actual employee of camsites they broadcast on. So what would change?  

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This would mean that camsites would have to begin paying benefits to all performers residing in California such as unemployment, disability, pay into Social Security, & employment taxes to the state.  Performers on many camsites earn a large portion of their camming income from tips which camsites currently take a percentage of.  Under AB5 camsites would no longer be allowed to continue this practice for performers residing in California & they could be owed the amount camsites took of their tips dating back to April 2018.  There is a lot to learn about AB5 & how it will really change the industry.  
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Check out the APAG release for all the information & how it may affect your favorite California based webcam performers. 

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2019 XBIZ Cam Awards Final Voting Is Open

XBIZ has announced the finalists in the 2019 XBIZ Cam Awards scheduled to be held May 30th in Miami, Florida.  You may vote for all your favorites daily through May 29th at the XBIZ Cam Awards Website.  Listed below are several categories & nominee's of interest in this years event...

Best Male Webcam Model - Tyler Hill, Jared Nation, Camran Mac, Brock Cooper, Cheston Stone, Johnny Stone, Tannor Reed, Leo West, FunMrSmith, Thony_grey, Jaden Storm, Wes Myers, Liam Jacobs, Ricky Rodeo, & Johnny Hands.  

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Rising Webcam Star (Male) - Parker Jacobs, Alvin Kasey, Paul Cassidy, Rough Rider 420, Liam Jacobs, Jesse Prather, Sam Shock, Max Zeyh, Petes Evans, & Marco Saenz. 

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Best Male Clip Artist - Brock Cooper, Johnny Stone, Ricky Rodeo, Steve Rickz...

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Rising Clip Artist (Male) - Jesse Prather, Sam Shock, Wesley Woods...

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Best of luck to all the nominee's & check back after the show as CGN will report on all the shows winners.

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Russia Banning Camsites?

Russia announced today the permanent banning of two of the top camsites in the world. Chaturbate & Bongacams will soon be unavailable inside the borders of the Russian Federation. This means that both broadcasters & customers of both camsites will no longer have access unless they find & use a work around giving them access. Bonga Cams has announced a work around using their own Bonga Cash affiliate program, however we feel it is a matter of time before it is banned too. Below are a few Russian camguys discussing the situation & using a VPN...

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Based off our past research what @yumalexxx says about VPN's being illegal in Russia is 100% correct.  What @alex_amazing69 claims about VPN's being legal is not accurate based on our research as users can be subject to legal action.  As of right now Russian performers are still on Chaturbate so we aren't sure when the ban goes into effect or if they are using a VPN.  This raises the question as to what this means for other camsites, we are told of events which include Flirt-4-Free set to be held in St. Petersburg in early September.  CGN has learned from a studio owner about a Russian Studio summit in Nizhniy Novgorod where they will discuss strategies to make their industry legal & transparent while training performers who are in attendance at the event too.

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2018 The Bucharest Summit Award Winners

Another Webcam Summit has announced the opening of the nomination period for their awards show.  The Bucharest Summit is scheduled to be held May 21st - 25th at the Radisson Blu hotel with the awards gala being held May 24th.  The nomination period is open in all categories through March 31st with the "top 8" in each category moving on to a second public voting which ends May 1st.  The top 4 in each category will be announced during the awards gala & will be voted on by a "jury" of  industry executives, we'll have more on this later.  Here is the link to the nominations page... Bucharest Summit Awards.  Listed below are just a few categories of interest & other thoughts on this event... x

Male Model of the Year Fetish Model of the Year Studio Model of the Year Independent Model of the Year Male Cam Studio of the Year Cam Studio of the Year Romanian Cam Studio of the Year Latin American Cam Studio of the Year Live Camsite of the Year Best "Freemium" Camsite Best "Premium" Camsite Best Interactive Toy Technology Best CMS Platform (ie: Onlyfans, Model Centro...) x The event in most performer & studio categories will be geared toward Eastern European performers.  This event really isn't a "fan voted" awards concept for the most part due to their overall concept of having a jury of industry executives choose the winners.  Please keep these points in mind when deciding whether or not to nominate/vote for your favorites. xxx x x

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