Canadian adult rated site, Pornhub is reported to have taken down nearly 80% of videos on its site, after claims that the site is ‘infested’ with child abuse.
According to reports, the site was the topic of an investigation by the New York Times that led to Visa and Mastercard blocking access to payments. More than 10 million videos have been removed from the site and Pornhub says it will no longer host videos from unverified users. Previously, anyone who signed up to a Pornhub account could upload a video, the UK Metro reports.
There were 13.5 million videos on Pornhub on Sunday evening, as noted by Motherboard. By Tuesday lunchtime, that had dropped to 2.9 million
From now on, only official content partners or users signed up to its Model Program initiative (who earn ad revenue from their videos) can post videos. The site said in a statement that it has ‘no tolerance’ for content that shows sexual abuse of children and denied it knowingly allowed such images. ‘Any assertion that we allow CSAM [child sexual abuse material] is irresponsible and flagrantly untrue,’ Pornhub said.
However, the allegations against Pornhub run deep – with many claiming the site should be shut down altogether.
Mastercard announced it was terminating use of its cards on Pornhub after its own investigation confirmed violations of standards prohibiting unlawful conduct on the site. It added it was also investigating other websites for potentially illegal content. Visa said it was suspending use of its cards on Pornhub even though its own investigation was incomplete. Pornhub, in a statement, called the actions ‘exceptionally disappointing.’
The company said it had more than 42 billion visits to its website last year.