Pornhub has begun removing videos uploaded by Unverified users on it’s platform

According to The Verge, As part of a crackdown on user-uploaded content after two major payment processors suspended operation, Pornhub is deleting all videos uploaded to its site by unverified users, millions of videos in total.

The decision, first reported by Motherboard, stems from a story in the New York Times that found the site was hosting images of minors and videos showing assaults on children.

Last Tuesday, the site revealed that it would begin restricting uploads to only confirmed users. Uploads now have to come from official content partners or “Model Program” representatives of Pornhub, which needs age verification to sign up.

Motherboard states that starting in 2021, all previously uploaded videos are now being “pending verification and review” pulled.

“This implies that every piece of Pornhub content is from verified uploaders, a requirement that has yet to be established by platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, and Twitter,” Pornhub wrote this morning in a blog post.

As of this writing, Pornhub claims to have wiped out more than 8,8 million videos. On Sunday night, Motherboard said the site hosted 13.5 million videos; as of Monday morning, it had 4.7 million.

Although the site hosts professional content, its main purpose functions just like YouTube — allowing users to upload videos of their own and make money off of ad revenue. The majority of Pornhub’s content was reflected in those videos.

Visa and Mastercard said they would investigate if the site was hosting illegal material after the Times’ article last week.

Both businesses cut off service on Thursday, preventing customers from making transactions through two of the most common payment methods available on Pornhub.

For Pornhub, which mostly sells videos, as well as the sex workers who use the sales of the platform as a source of income, the suspension of service could pose a significant problem.