Pornhub is swimming in lawsuits - illegal content risks the credibility of porn jobs too

More and more people are suing Pornhub for illegal content

It was only in 2020 that Pornhub's site was revealed to be full of non-consensual videos of sexual violence, child pornography and hidden camera footage.

This, of course, stirred up a lot of dust not only in the world of erotic and porn jobs, since this kind of content violates personal rights and undermines the legal activities of professional sex workers.

Within minutes, anti-trafficking activist Laila Mickelwait logged on to Pornhub, searched for "homeless," and found a disturbing amateur video similar to the ones she describes in her new book.

In the video, the woman can be heard shouting, angrily telling the man to turn off the camera and stop filming.

Illegal content can cast a bad light on porn jobs

Founded in Montreal in 2007, Pornhub offers a platform for users to upload amateur and professional porn videos, similar to how YouTube works.

Four years ago, it came to light that the site contained a number of videos containing sexual violence, child pornography and non-consensual hidden camera footage.

Advertisers, streaming platforms and credit card companies have one by one terminated their cooperation with the site, which consequently deleted 80 percent of its content.

Since then, Pornhub has implemented strict security measures to exclude illegal and abusive content - protecting artists who really want to create porn and continue their adult job.

From January, uploaders of videos are required to submit a photo ID, this is the only way to do adult work on the platform.

No other online platform has taken as significant steps as we have to keep our community safe and secure, including artificial intelligence technology and human content moderation.

- said Sarah Bain, spokesperson for Ethical Capital Partners, the Canadian private equity company that owns the Pornhub network of adult content sites.

Pornhub has had previous issues with content restrictions, and it seems like the matter will continue:

Illegal content can do a lot of harm to Pornhub and erotic work

However, Pornhub is still struggling with legal problems.

Uploaders will remain anonymous in many thousands of videos from before 2024, including those that turn up based on search terms related to teens and violence, Mickelwait told Business Insider.

The videos, which were uploaded without verifying the age or consent of those depicted, are at the heart of the fight by Mickelwait, who now plans to file hundreds of lawsuits against Pornhub.

Because there is no proper verification, there is no way to know for sure whether the "actors" consented to the recording or its publication on Pornhub.

There's really no way to know if the characters are over 18 or if what we're seeing is revenge porn or maybe rape.

- Mickelwait stressed.

More and more lawsuits against Pornhub

The number of plaintiffs is already over 300, and more and more lawsuits claim that the adult site intentionally profited from adult videos of abuse.

Lawyers have also indicated that they are preparing more lawsuits.

However, lawyers for Pornhub did not respond to inquiries about the lawsuits.

Last year, Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub, was placed under federal surveillance for three years for illegal erotic content.

Aylo operates a network of porn sites that includes Pornhub, Pornhub Premium, Brazzers, YouPorn, Reality Kings, Men.com, TransAngels and Nataku.

Source: Economx.