Pornhub Disables Downloads over Allegations of Unregulated Content involving ‘Underage Girls’
In a statement made on Tuesday, PornHub revealed that it has made significant changes to its content policies. Users will now not be able to download videos and only verified users will be able to upload videos though paid downloads remain accessible. The platform is to reject any and all videos from unverified sources. The company has also committed to a special ‘Red Team’ to improve the site’s content moderation. “Today, we are taking major steps to further protect our community,” said PornHub.”Going forward, we will only allow properly identified users to upload content. We have banned downloads,” it added. More changes are to follow in the upcoming year 2021. The statement read, “In the new year, we will implement a verification process so that any user can upload content upon successful completion of identification protocol” The company has also vowed to release its first transparency report in 2021.
Although PornHub claims that the changes were due to an independent review conducted in April to eliminate all illegal content, the statements come immediately after the harrowing New York Times report on PornHub by Nicholas Kristof that brought to light the personal consequences of many young girls whose videos were uploaded without their consent. The report highlights how the videos tend to circulate even after the website deletes the content. The report also asserted that 6.8 million new videos are posted on the site each year and that a majority probably involve consenting adults, “but many depict child abuse and nonconsensual violence.” PornHub seems to have put forth the new policies in a bid to do damage control.
Business Partners associated with PornHub especially payment processors Mastercard and Visa are under pressure to cut ties with the company following public outrage. Indeed, officials from both the companies claimed on Monday to cut ties if the site is found to be approving unregulated content.
