Pornhub removes all unverified videos from its platform
Everything uploaded to the site is now from a verified user or content partner.
Last week, infamous porn-hosting site Pornhub made a big change by cutting off “unverified” uploads. Now, the company is taking things a step further and has removed all content that wasn’t uploaded by either a “content partner” or a verified user. Overnight, Pornhub has removed millions of uploaded videos — and, according to Vice, the site will start reviewing and verifying that those videos meet its “trust and safety policy.”
This comes after a New York Times report last week highlighted how the site’s lax enforcement of its policies was leading to child exploitation. Other issues linked to the site include scads of revenge porn, or videos uploaded without the consent of people in them. Pornhub didn’t directly address the allegations in the Times report, but the two major changes to the company’s policies over the last week speak volumes.
Today, Pornhub said that the third-party Internet Watch Foundation had reported 118 incidents of child sexual abuse material on the Pornhub platform, compared to 84 million instances self-reported by Facebook. Pornhub also pointed out that, as of today, every piece of content on the site is from verified uploaders, “a requirement that platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and Twitter have yet to institute.”
The company’s responses certainly have a ring of self-righteousness, especially as it says it’s being targeted “not because of our policies and how we compare to our peers, but because we are an adult content platform.” But with Mastercard and Visa both cutting off payments to Pornhub, the company has clear financial incentive to cleaning up its act.
