Money talks: Pornhub reveals major changes as payment partners recoil after reports site is ‘infested’ with child abuse

Pornhub has announced major changes, including only accepting uploads from verified accounts and banning downloads, following reports that the adult content platform was “infested” with child abuse and rape videos.

The porn giant said the changes will help make sure videos are only uploaded from consenting parties. The development comes after Mastercard and Visa announced that it was investigating claims made in news reports that the site hosted videos showing the abuse of children and unconscious women. 

“Effective immediately, only content partners and people within the Model Program will be able to upload content to Pornhub,” the site said in a statement. “In the new year, we will implement a verification process so that any user can upload content upon successful completion of identification protocol.”

Pornhub has faced a storm of controversy after the New York Times reported that the site is “infested” with rape videos, including child rape and revenge porn. Credit card companies were lobbied to withhold payment from the adult content provider, prompting Mastercard and Visa to spring into action.

The changes will also see “fingerprinting technology” deployed to prevent content that has already been removed from the platform from being reposted. Pornhub also pledged to expand its moderation efforts by creating a new task force called the ‘Red Team’ that will trawl the site searching for illegal material. 

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