Pornhub’s YouTube channel has been banned for “multiple violations” of YouTube’s Community Guidelines, Variety reported on Sunday.
The policy in question is linking to external websites that host content which wouldn’t be allowed on YouTube itself.
“We enforce our policies equally for everyone, and channels that repeatedly violate or are dedicated to violative content are terminated,” YouTube spokesperson Jack Malon told Variety.
Pornhub Official, which was the full name of Pornhub’s YouTube channel, cannot be accessed at writing time. It had nearly 900,000 subscribers prior to its termination.
MindGeek, which is the parent company of Pornhub, claims Pornhub’s YouTube channel did not link out to porn.
“Pornhub maintains the absolute best trust and safety measures on the internet and takes special care to ensure it does not violate any of YouTube’s Community Guidelines,” MindGeek said in a statement.
The company also said it views this as an example of “discrimination against those in the adult industry,” as “performers and sex workers are marginalized groups that rely on social media to engage with fans.”
“YouTube’s haphazard and arbitrary enforcement of its policies against Pornhub and those involved with the adult industry is dangerous and harmful,” said MindGeek.
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) applauded YouTube’s decision, saying it was them that flagged the content on Pornhub’s YouTube account that violated YouTube policies.
“No mainstream company should partner with Pornhub, which profits from and has built its entire business model on sexually exploiting people,” Lina Nealon, director of corporate and strategic initiatives for NCOSE, said in a statement.
Pornhub was suspended from Instagram in September 2022, and both Mastercard and Visa stopped processing payments to Pornhub in December 2020, following a New York Times report that Pornhub hosted videos featuring underaged girls.
