PayPal Cuts Off ‘Over a Hundred Thousand’ Pornhub Performers
PayPal decided Wednesday to block payments to adult performers who upload content to Pornhub, according to statement from the mega-porn platform.
“We are all devastated by PayPal’s decision to stop payouts to over a hundred thousand performers who rely on them for their livelihoods,” the company said on its blog. “We sincerely apologize if this causes any delays and we will have staff working around the clock to make sure all payouts are processed as fast as possible on the new payment methods.”
Reached for comment, a PayPal spokesman told National Review that “following a review, we have discovered that Pornhub has made certain business payments through PayPal without seeking our permission. We have taken action to stop these transactions from occurring.”
The payment processor would not comment on whether the decision was merely due to a technicality, or a conscious decision to cut off sex workers. In its acceptable use policy, PayPal states that “certain sexually oriented materials or services” are forbidden transactions.
Last month, Pornhub removed “Girls Do Porn” as an official content partner — a contractual agreement that benefits both the channel and Pornhub through views and advertising — a week after the owner and employees were formally charged with federal sex trafficking counts.
In August, nearly 22 young women sued the porn production company for fraud, emotional distress damages, and misappropriation of their likeness, saying that they responded to Craigslist ads seeking models and were then coerced into performing in pornography videos.
Pornhub kept the official channel, with dozens of videos and multi-millions in views, up for months after the allegations emerged. Women who appeared in Girls Do Porn videos told VICE that their appearance on Pornhub led to them be doxed.
