Pornhub removes all unverified content from platform following backlash

The major change comes after a report on the adult site's controversial content in 'The New York Times'

Dec 14, 2020

Pornhub’s video content has been trimmed down extensively in the past 24 hours. After significant backlash in the past week, the adult site removed all unverified content from their platform, purging the site of millions of videos.

KONSKIE, POLAND – December 07, 2019: Pornhub logo displayed on mobile phone

In a statement this morning, Pornhub wrote, “As part of our policy to ban unverified uploaders, we have now also suspended all previously uploaded content that was not created by content partners or members of the Model Program.” On Sunday night, Pornhub’s catalog stood at 13.5 million videos, according to the site. Now the site is currently at 7.2 million, marking a significant decrease in their content. The number is still changing, making it difficult to detail just how many videos they have deleted.

In their blog post, Pornhub seemed to call on other platforms to enact similar vetting systems for video content. It reads, “Last week, we enacted the most comprehensive safeguards in user-generated platform history…this means every piece of Pornhub content is from verified uploaders, a requirement that platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and Twitter have yet to institute.”

This thorough overhaul of PornHub’s content follows a widely viewed New York Times op-ed last week that exposed a dark underside of the popular site, revealing that their vast catalog contained explicit underage and child assault videos. After a backlash, both Visa and Mastercard stopped processing payments from the site.

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Mastercard spokesperson Seth Eisen told The Verge, “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 on their site.”

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