Pornhub. Whether you love it or hate it, it’s been a staple of the internet for over a decade. For consumers, it’s one of the best known sites to get your rocks off for free/”free.” (There is no such thing as “free,” someone or something must always cover the cost.) Consequently, for models and content creators, it’s one of the best known sites to get yourself in front of the largest number of people.
As would be the likely case with such a big company in any relatively un-regulated industry, Pornhub seems to run into some pretty significant “oversight” issues.
Case in point: In late October, a 15-year-old girl, who had been reported missing for almost a year, was found after the girl’s mother discovered she was on a number of adult sites, including Pornhub. Police subsequently discovered fifty-eight videos of the girl had been posted during the months after she went missing.
How did this happen? Well, aside from the all of the other crimes allegedly committed against this young person, someone had to start accounts on each respective site and upload the videos to each. One would assume that the sites would have some sort of age verification process in place to at least attempt to verify people being shown in whatever content were of-age. Or not.
Now, well into December, Pornhub has not released a statement about what happened or changed its policies to stop instances like this.
How easy is it to upload content to Pornhub?
I took the liberty of making an account on Pornhub to see how easy it is to post photos and videos on there — and, boy howdy, if it didn’t take me more than ten minutes to get set up. The website does not have an age verification process and only gives you a warning in fine print to not post anything that would violate their terms and conditions page.
They also have a voluntary option for 2257 video compliance. Basically, this is a verification that people featured in whatever content you are uploading are of legal age to be present in sexually explicit media.
In my view, although Pornhub does disclose it is not a producer of videos and is only a video sharing site, that shouldn’t absolve them from responsibility.
What’s more troubling is that there is no age verification for their cam site either. An applicant for Modelhub only needs to upload a photo of themselves holding up a sign that has “pornhub.com” and their account name on it.
This “process” is drastically different from other cam sites, where you’re required to submit a valid ID along with your photo and send in 2257 paperwork.
This isn’t the first time Pornhub has gotten flack for potentially criminal content. In October, the website was criticized for not cooperating with UK police in a revenge porn investigation.
It’s interesting to see how Pornhub has labelled itself as a proponent of activism over the past few years (look up dirtiest porn ever”) but has remained silent when it comes to protecting victims of sexual exploitation and abuse.
Pornhub needs to adopt strict and stringent application processes and create a better system when content raises concerns of abuse and exploitation, including the abuse and exploitation of underage persons.
I understand regulating content can come with risks, but there needs to be a better way to keep the sex industry safe, legal and consensual.
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Ariane Torres is a writer who says funny things on occasion. Email her at ariane@ynotcam.com and find her on Twitter at @tofulumpia.
Screengrabs by the author.
