Pornhub, established in 2007, was one of the pioneers to make porn content easily available online.
Adult performers have often praised this website for helping them earn money on their terms. Unfortunately, it also provides a platform for exploitative work practices and trafficking of sexual services.
In 2020, a non-profit called Justice Defense Fund initiated a campaign against Pornhub to hold its executives responsible for contributing to work exploitation and violence on its site.
Pornhub is a pornographic website
Pornhub is one of the Internet’s most-visited adult content websites. Based out of Montreal, Canada and owned by MindGeek – who also oversees several other adult-themed sites – this platform boasts one of the highest visitor counts on this type of platform.
Launched by four Canadian college friends — Stephane Manos, Ouissam Youssef, Feras Antoon and Matt Keezer — who shared an interest in pornography, it was later sold to MindGeek in March 2010 who now operate other adult content websites under their banner.
This website hosts a variety of content for free viewing, while there are also premium videos available to pay-for on it.
As well as offering a diverse array of content, the website also provides various tools to keep users safe online. One such tool is its Sexual Wellness Center that offers advice about STDs and safe sexual practices for users of all ages.
Another highlight of the site is its Described Video category, offering visually impaired viewers access to various pornographic material that has been specially described and described for them. This service proves immensely helpful for people unable to watch a video on their own; additionally it ensures content reaches as wide an audience as possible.
Alongside its top-quality content, this site is known for its user-friendly design and navigation system. Optimized for different devices and browsers alike, its website makes it simple for people from around the globe to access its pages with ease.
Pornhub may have its share of downsides, such as its censorship practices and involvement in child sex trafficking; nonetheless, millions of users still find value in it and its services provide income to many sex workers who make a living from its content.
In 2020, The New York Times ran an opinion piece outlining how Pornhub exploited sex workers. It became a viral hit and generated much debate surrounding its policies; Visa and Mastercard pulled their payment processing facility for Pornhub after hearing of this report, prompting MindGeek to remove most videos and implement an age verification system for actors.
It is criticized for carelessness
Carelessness is often at the core of online pornography issues. Image-based sexual abuse such as intimate partner violence, pedophilia, human trafficking for sexual exploitation or torture can often go undetected until later; even then it often happens without anyone realizing who the perpetrator is.
Pornhub, with its vast catalog of violent content such as child rapes, revenge pornography videos of women showering, racist and misogynist content and footage showing women being strangulated using plastic bags is almost impossible to take down or shut down.
However, once reported they can be removed from the website. Unfortunately this process can be long and time consuming, with video uploaders receiving payment before waiting several weeks until their videos are actually taken down from public view.
Sometimes videos remain on YouTube for such an extended period that they never truly get removed, due to having gained such a strong following and continuing to be shared and reposted by viewers.
Critics maintain that Pornhub does not take child rapes and nonconsensual uploads seriously enough, leading them to launch multiple campaigns aimed at closing down the site completely; one petition has garnered over one million signatures!
Mastercard and Visa have responded to this criticism by cutting ties with Mindgeek, the Canadian company behind Mindhub which hosts multiple pornographic websites such as Brazzers. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof published an opinion piece entitled The Children of Pornhub to highlight instances of child exploitation occurring through its platform.
Top executives of the company have defended their actions and pledged their efforts at removing these illegal posts, but have admitted that their business model revolves around profiting from videos featuring young people engaging in sexual acts.
Pornhub has come under scrutiny for failing to verify the age of actors featured on its site and failing to make it clear that all content on it is copyrighted – meaning some of the most exploitative videos may never be removed, leaving victims at risk of further abuse.
It is a source of sex work exploitation
Sex workers, or anyone employed in the sex industry, including pornography, prostitution, escort services, strippers and phone sex girls. Sex workers include shop owners as well as others providing related services – regardless of their role, those working within this field can be subject to exploitation and abuse in many forms.
The sex industry is massive, offering millions of different kinds of sex work for every kink, fetish or fantasy out there. But that doesn’t mean sex workers cannot be exploited or trafficked for profit – or that its issues should remain ignored.
Since 2000, sex workers have been fighting for recognition of their exploitation by mainstream society. They’ve tried to place this issue front-and-center when discussing technology’s role in society; as well as advocated against business models that drain earnings while virtually dominating an online porn ecosystem.
But if the only way to protect sex workers from exploitation is by taking their money away from them, this approach won’t work; consenting adult sex workers would become even less capable of making an income and more reliant on payment processors who only want to take advantage of them, leading them further down a path that leads to sex trafficking problems in the long run.
Money Shot tells a compelling narrative about a group of sex workers and their supporters as they try to have their voices heard by society as a whole. While their struggles can be heartbreaking, Money Shot provides us with an important window into this important global narrative.
Money Shot is an eye-opening documentary that provides a compelling look at what has gone wrong in the porn industry since it first gained momentum. It demonstrates how the exploitation of sex workers isn’t unique to Pornhub; rather it occurs across all websites offering sexual content online.
It is a source of sex trafficking
Sex video porn is an online form of sexual abuse and exploitation linked to sex trafficking, often exploiting children by depicting scenes of sexual violence while normalizing harmful behavior or failing to set healthy boundaries.
Many may view social networking websites like Myspace and Friendster as harmless yet unimportant parts of the internet, yet their use can have serious repercussions for users and can even act as an avenue for trafficking of sexual services worldwide.
Thus, it is vitally important that we prevent pornographic videos from being seen and spread around the globe. To do this, we must educate children about sex and consent issues.
Encourage them to report suspicious or inappropriate content as it can help stop more victims from being victimized by websites displaying such material and ensure perpetrators are arrested for their crimes.
Porn and sex trafficking are serious concerns, and this problem has only become worse over time. That is why we need allies in helping expose this issue and bring about change!
Our Op-ed on sex abuse on Pornhub ignited widespread outrage worldwide, garnering coverage by news outlets worldwide as well as being featured by The New York Times and our animated video garnering 34 Million Views and two Million Signatures.
#Traffickinghub, launched to pressure Pornhub to shut down and hold its executives responsible for permitting sexual exploitation of children, has received the support of over 300 child protection and anti-trafficking organizations as well as hundreds of survivors worldwide.
One of the most distressing examples is Rose Kalemba’s case. Two men attacked and sexually assaulted her while another documented it all, then uploaded six videos showing what occurred onto Pornhub.
It is not the first time a young girl has experienced sexual assault; however, with it being captured on video and shared online for everyone to view has brought global awareness of this issue. With more people understanding the connection between porn and sex trafficking and more changes being seen over time.