I don't know why this struck me as odd. I guess maybe because I have this image of a porn website in my head that's basically a bunch of sweaty pervs with a makeshift server farm set up in some abandoned warehouse with a leaky roof and a non-functioning shitter.
When I stop to think about it, I know there's huge money in it, but somehow it just doesn't register that PornHub would have a corporate structure and an org chart that looks a whole lot like any other profitable enterprise.
But what really sticks in my brain is the thought of a porn company trying to do more to be socially conscientious and to keep itself morally fit than way too many banks or oil companies or governments.
To be clear: I'm all for anything that goes on between consenting adults, and makes you feel good. Fake lord knows porn is a mighty fine "self care" tool for when the pressures of surviving here in USAmerica Inc get a little overburdensome.
And you can monetize the shit out of it as long as participation is voluntary and as non-exploitative as is possible when we're talking about transactions between people as we struggle with the paradox of wanting anonymity and privacy in a world that runs on interconnectivity and the exchange of information.
And also too: PornHub lost me when they went "a little too corporate" a few years ago, and started removing all the spontaneous homemade stuff in favor of content that's over-staged and poorly produced, even though it has a "better" look to it.
But anyway...
WaPo: (pay wall - because the pimps at Washington Post aren't that much different than the pimps at PornHub?)
Two top executives at MindGeek, the parent company of Pornhub, have resigned amid allegations that the site does not immediately or sufficiently remove content involving nonconsensual and underage sex.
MindGeek confirmed the departures of CEO Feras Antoon and COO David Tassillo in a statement Tuesday.
“Antoon and Tassillo leave MindGeek’s day-to-day operations after more than a decade in leadership positions with the company,” the company told The Washington Post. “MindGeek’s executive leadership team will run day-to-day operations on an interim basis, with a search underway for replacements.”
News of the departures come about a week after a New Yorker article detailed people’s attempts to get Porhhub to remove sexually explicit content that involved underage and nonconsensual participants. Announcement of the departures is not related to the piece, MindGeek told The Post.
The company said in a statement that it had enacted the most extensive safeguards “in the history of the internet” and that data proves its policies have been effective. The statement cited a National Center for Missing and Exploited Children report showing that Pornhub had few instances of child sexual abuse and that it removed cases of such material “in the shortest amount of time after being notified among all major platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and more.”
“The New Yorker had the opportunity to seriously evaluate what works in fighting illegal material on the internet by looking at the facts, comparing the policies of platforms, and studying the results,” MindGeek’s statement said. “Instead, they chose to ignore the fact that MindGeek has more comprehensive and effective policies than any other major platform on the internet, and decided to peddle the same gross mischaracterizations that anti-porn extremists have spewed for decades.”
Alana Evans, president of the Adult Performance Artists Guild, a union for adult performers, said entertainers are stunned by the news of the departures because such resignations typically come as a result of bad press or a scandal.
“The timing is kind of out of the blue,” Evans told The Post, but added that she didn’t think the resignations were tied to the New Yorker piece. MindGeek has fought lawsuits and negative articles in the past, she said.
In December 2020, Mastercard, Visa and Discover blocked customers from using their credit cards on Pornhub’s website after the New York Times published an opinion piece accusing Pornhub of being rife with nonconsensual and child abuse material.
The New Yorker piece, which Evans called “a hit job,” quotes multiple organizations, such as the National Center on Sexual Exploitation and Exodus Cry, that have been at the forefront of pushing legislation and corporate decisions that make it hard for sex workers to earn a living.
In December 2020, Mastercard, Visa and Discover blocked customers from using their credit cards on Pornhub’s website after the New York Times published an opinion piece accusing Pornhub of being rife with nonconsensual and child abuse material.
The New Yorker piece, which Evans called “a hit job,” quotes multiple organizations, such as the National Center on Sexual Exploitation and Exodus Cry, that have been at the forefront of pushing legislation and corporate decisions that make it hard for sex workers to earn a living.
Evans said she is stunned by the exits of the top executives, but noted that their resignations probably will not affect the day-to-day life of performers because people in those positions are already so far removed from the routine of the average performer.
“MindGeek is corporate porn,” she said, naming smaller outlets. “Other owners and CEOs are far more involved in porn and the product.”
What’s mainly on the mind of people in the industry is what is next for MindGeek, especially for Pornhub. Evans noted that the company has an opportunity to place a woman in charge.
MindGeek said it is at the beginning of investing in its “creator-first offerings and additional opportunities for content monetization, with a plan to use resources to make headway in this burgeoning business as the company continues to be a force in digital video and tube sites.”
Moving to models where it can compete with subscriber-based and creator-driven platforms such as Patreon and OnlyFans makes good business sense, according to Evans.
“That’s what’s hot. That’s what people want,” she said, adding that limiting free content is always good for performers because most platforms make money from advertising. “The more free content that is pulled, the more money that we make.”
