WASHINGTON, DC (January 25, 2024) – In a momentous stride for survivors worldwide, Pornhub has capitulated to the relentless pressure exerted by brave individuals who refuse to be silenced any longer. Pornhub, under the auspices of its parent company Aylo, formerly MindGeek, has announced plans to implement age and consent verification. However, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation urges caution.
“These sex trafficking and child sexual abuse survivors, whose courage and resilience are unmatched as they have brought lawsuits and global attention, have ignited a beacon of hope for all who have sexual abuse content uploaded to the Internet. Today, we celebrate their victory, bearing in mind that it is only a stepping stone on the journey to justice,” said Dawn Hawkins, CEO, National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“These proposed measures, while seemingly progressive, do not go far enough in ensuring the safety and protection of individuals in the face of potential abuse. Without a combination of automated tools and rigorous human moderation, merely uploading an ID and signed consent form isn’t enough and will be easily manipulated by those intent on fostering harm and exploitation. It also only applies to uploads made to Pornhub from January 24, 2024, and on, meaning that Pornhub will continue to profit from victims’ filmed sexual abuse.
“We cannot allow ourselves to be beguiled by these initial measures. They do not constitute meaningful consent or effective age verification. The new policy, in its current form, continues to abdicate the responsibility of safeguarding against the upload of non-consensual sexual content and child pornography. The system will easily be exploited by sex traffickers, voyeurs, child sexual abusers, and jilted ex-boyfriends, and Pornhub knows this.
“The assurance of a consent form, bereft of any tangible protective measures, not only fails to discourage those bent on profiting from abuse but also irresponsibly delegates the responsibility of consent to sexual exploiters, who are fundamentally untrustworthy. It only cements Pornhub’s partnership with those who revel in the degradation and exploitation of others.
“For Pornhub’s new policy to be effective, it must require meaningful consent with documented risks and harms provided to the performer, pre-authorization and consent to sex acts, right of withdrawal of consent even after the footage is uploaded online, banning any video where the ID and face of all people depicted are not confirmed as matching, and more,” Hawkins said.
There are now two class action lawsuits that have been certified in the United States, including one that the National Center on Sexual Exploitation is co-leading, and multiple civil lawsuits in the U.S. and Canada against Pornhub for profiting from sex trafficking and child sexual abuse material. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation is also co-counsel in a lawsuit against Pornhub and XHamster filed on behalf of 9 women who were secretly filmed while changing in a college locker room for a field hockey game, and the footage of which was then uploaded to Pornhub and XHamster.
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-partisan organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography.
