Pornhub bans unverified uploads, ability to download content

Pornhub will ban unverified content from being posted on its website and prohibit users from downloading content effective immediately, the company announced Tuesday.

The update came after mounting pressure following a New York Times column published last week stating that the website contained rape scenes, revenge pornography and underaged sex. Days after the piece was published, credit card companies Mastercard and Visa said they were reviewing their businesses relationships with Pornhub.

Columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote that while a “great majority” of the 6.8 million new videos posted on the side yearly may involve consenting adults, “many depict child abuse and nonconsensual violence.”

Pornhub called the allegations that it allows child videos on the site “irresponsible and flagrantly untrue.”

Pornhub announced on Tuesday that it is only allowing verified content partners or people within its “Model Program” to upload to the website, which will launch a verification process next year so “any user can upload content upon successful completion of identification protocol.”

Additionally, the website said it has removed the ability for users to download content with the exception of paid downloads within the verified Model Program.

The previous ability for users to download directly from Pornhub had made it possible for content that may have been removed to still be shared, and possibly uploaded again.