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Mathias Poujol-Rost ✅ · Saturday, 12 March, 2022 - 18:54
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Amid scandal, Pornhub hires “biometric technology” firm for user verification
Kate Cox · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Wednesday, 3 February, 2021 - 21:46
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Visa, MasterCard investigate Pornhub amid allegations of child exploitation
Kate Cox · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Monday, 7 December, 2020 - 18:34
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Mathias Poujol-Rost ✅ · Monday, 16 December, 2019 - 06:59
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Adult website Pornhub this week announced a slew of new security features and policies as it tries to get back in the world's good graces in the wake of abuse allegations it faced late last year.
Pornhub is adding "comprehensive measures for verification, moderation, and detection" of uploaded content to verify that the videos on its platform feature consenting adults and not "potentially illegal material" including exploitation of minors, the company said in a press release ( PDF ) this week.
The site—and its parent company, MindGeek—found itself in the spotlight in early December as New York Times opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof published a feature alleging Pornhub "monetizes child rapes, revenge pornography, spy cam videos of women showering, racist and misogynist content, and footage of women being asphyxiated in plastic bags." Kristof spoke to several women who said videos of them being sexually assaulted were uploaded to Pornhub without their knowledge or consent, and that having them removed was all but impossible due to the site's upload and dowload policies.
Paying for adult entertainment may become more challenging in the near future, as both Visa and MasterCard are investigating Pornhub following allegations that the site allows and profits from content depicting rape and child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Visa and MasterCard on Sunday each issued separate statements saying they were investigating Pornhub and its parent company, MindGeek, in the wake of a new report.
"We are aware of the allegations, and we are actively engaging with the relevant financial institutions to investigate, in addition to engaging directly with the site’s parent company, MindGeek," Visa told the Associated Press on Sunday. If the investigation finds Pornhub to be in violation of the law or the company's existing banking agreements, it will be prohibited from using Visa for payments.