(FILES) In this file photo taken on January 23, 2018, a Pornhub logo is displayed at the company’s booth at the 2018 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
BENGALURU — Pornhub said on Monday it had pulled content uploaded by unverified users from its platform, days after Mastercard and Visa halted payments on the sex videos site over allegations of child sex-abuse content.
The move was a part of its policy announced last week where Pornhub banned users’ ability to download videos and said it would allow only certain partner accounts to upload content, following a New York Times column that said many videos posted on the adult website depicted child abuse.
“It is clear that Pornhub is being targeted not because of our policies and how we compare to our peers, but because we are an adult content platform,” the company said in the blog post late on Sunday.
It also said it was being targeted by organizations such as the National Center on Sexual Exploitation and Exodus Cry/TraffickingHub, which are dedicated to abolishing pornography, banning material they claim is obscene, and shutting down commercial sex work.
Last week, Mastercard said it was permanently ending the use of its cards on the platform after its investigation confirmed the presence of illegal content on the platform. Visa had said it was suspending payments till an investigation was completed.