A Registered Sex Offender (RSO) convicted of a violent or nonconsensual sexual offense is not permitted to have an account on FetLife.

Most countries outside the US don’t have public RSO lists. In those cases, we consider a conviction of a violent or nonconsensual sexual offense to be equivalent.

What is in violation of this guideline?

Under this guideline, anyone who we can confirm is:

• (Inside U.S.) a RSO convicted of a violent or nonconsensual offense; or
• (Outside U.S.) convicted of a violent or nonconsensual offense

is not permitted to have an account on FetLife.

To confirm someone is a registered sex offender and/or has been found guilty of a violent or nonconsensual offense, we need:

• Proof of the member being on a sex offender registry or convicted of a crime that would place them on a RSO list:
  • Link to public RSO listing (US);
  • Link to court documents; or
  • Link to news article (only in places where there is no public RSO registry)
• Clear and obvious links between the member in question and proof provided; ex. matching pictures, personal information

What is not in violation of this guideline?

The following is not in violation of this guideline:

• Cases where we can not find an adequate link between the provided proof and the account in question. A case is reopened when more evidence is provided.
• Someone who has been charged with a crime that would cause them to be added to a RSO list but who has not yet been convicted. In these cases, we suspend their profile until there is a verdict in the case. We then evaluate the profile accordingly.

How do I report a potential violation of this guideline?

You can report a potential registered sex offender as follows:

On Desktop:

1. Visit the person’s profile
2. Select "report"
3. Select "Other reason..."
4. Select "Next"
5. Provide:
   • Link to public RSO listing; or
   • Link to news article; or
   • Link to court documents
6. Select "Report"

On Mobile:

1. Visit the person's profile
2. Select "..."
3. Select "Report"
4. Select "Other reason..."
5. Select "Next"
6. Provide:
   • Link to public RSO listing; or
   • Link to news article; or
   • Link to court documents
7. Select "Report"

By Email: (only for non-members)

1. Send an email to [email protected]
2. Include a link to the member’s profile or the member’s full nickname
3. Provide:
   • Link to public RSO listing; or
   • Link to news article; or
   • Link to (or an attachment of) court documents

For more general information on reporting, please visit: Submitting a Report.

Who can report a potential violation of this guideline?

Anyone who can provide adequate proof that the account in question is run by a sex offender who is convicted of a violent or non-consensual offense.

What happens if someone violates this guideline?

When an on-site report is made that includes adequate proof, and there is a clear and obvious link between the account and the evidence provided, then the account is suspended and the report is escalated.

After the report has been escalated, a member of the legal team reviews the report. Once a member of the legal team confirms that the member is in violation of the guideline, the account is put in the delete queue, the removed member is notified, and information about them is added to our internal RSO list.

When reporting directly to [email protected], it follows a similar process as on-site reports, except the account is not suspended until the legal team has fully reviewed it. This is because on-site caretakers do not have access to the legal inbox to do an initial review.

If a RSO creates a new account after we removed their initial account, and they live in an area where mandatory reporting of internet identifiers is required, a member of our legal team will report them to the proper authorities.