The web has lots of things, from the imaginable to the unimaginable.
Among the contents, there the usual contents, the 'Safe for Work' materials that no one should be shy of, and then there adult contents, the 'Not Safe for Work' contents that most people likely consider more personal. For the latter, despite operating in a somehow underground world, the websites that provide thm are actually part of the overall web that occupy many of people's time.
And Pornhub here, is one of the most popular.
Pornhub‘s parent company, MindGeek, which was co-founded by Fabian Thylmann, runs more than 100 other porn websites. And Pornhub as the largest, has been the most sought after website to find those adult entertainment.
But when it comes to adult entertainments on the web, people should know that the contents are objectionable.
One of the reasons, is because not all adult contents on the web are created by the subjects' consent or knowledge.
And this, and for numerous times, has landed Pornhub in hot waters.
As 2020 is coming to its end, Pornhub announced on its website that it's only allowing uploads from verified users and partners. What this means, Pornhub is starting to get strict in who can upload on its site.
Through this restriction, it's hoped that uploaded contents only include videos that are "professionally" made for commercialization, and taken by the subjects' knowledge.
What's more, Pornhub also said that it's banning all downloads, except for paid content from verified uploaders..
This updated moderation practice is set to start in 2021.
The moves follow a report from columnist Nicholas Kristof on the New York Times that highlighted the tragedy and long-trailing trauma that haunts people exploited in non-consensual contents and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) hosted on the platform.
Pornhub said that is has in the past made some moderation processes. It also had banned 'Girls Do Porn' in an attempt to stop online sex trafficking.
But according to Kristrof, there are weaknesses that allowed many unwanted contents to slip through the cracks unnoticed. These contents include footage depicting rape as well as revenge porn clips, to suggested searches for content that feature minors.
Pornhub is one of the few that donates to organizations fighting for racial equality, from the money it earns from ads and membership.
Founded in 2007, the site attracts more than 3.5 billion monthly visitors, a number that is higher than Amazon, Netflix or Yahoo!. With more than 1.36 million hours of video are uploaded to the site each year, Pornhub is ranked among the top websites in the world in many countries.
"Pornhub is like YouTube in that it allows members of the public to post their own videos," said Kristoff.
But things go downward from there.
"Yet there’s another side of the company: Its site is infested with rape videos. It monetizes child rapes, revenge pornography, spy cam videos of women showering, racist and misogynist content, and footage of women being asphyxiated in plastic bags. A search for “girls under18” (no space) or “14yo” leads in each case to more than 100,000 videos. Most aren’t of children being assaulted, but too many are," said Kristoff.
Contents like these, uploaded for the public viewing, is a harassment that can last a life time to the victims, and can create scar that affect mental health. Many victims have been ostracized, homeless, and even turned suicidal.
And in many cases, offenders were arrested for the assaults, but Pornhub escaped responsibility for sharing the videos and profiting from them.
Following Kristoff's report, in the announcement Pornhub made, the website said that it has the "the moral responsibility to join this fight," and it is "taking major steps to further protect our community."
Before this matter is even over, Visa and MasterCard have stopped allowing their cards to be used for payments on Pornhub.
The Mastercard statement: “Today, the use of our cards at Pornhub is being terminated. Our investigation over the past several days has confirmed violations of our standards prohibiting unlawful content.... we continue to investigate potential illegal content on other websites.”
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) December 10, 2020
Further reading: Online Child Exploitation And Abuse Increase During Coronavirus Pandemic, Research Found