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PornHub and YouPorn want you to think they’re good people. They really do. From giving funding to college sex educators to ‘fighting’ revenge porn to even paying for plows during snowstorms in major cities, they run some new positive propaganda stuff every time you turn around.
Don’t believe it for a single second. There’s a reason they’re on my blacklist.
They Have A Virtual Monopoly
PornHub’s parent company, MindGeek, has a virtual monopoly on ‘free’ porn streaming sites. These sites are modeled after YouTube, allowing users to upload content. Total, they consume the third-largest amount of bandwidth, with only Google and Netflix ahead of them. Companies they own or have a part in include (but aren’t limited to):
YouPorn
RedTube
Tube8
XTube
ExtremeTube
PornMD
PornIQ
Peeperz
GayTube
Babes.com
Men.com
Sextube
SpankWire
MyDirtyHobby
Webcams.com
Brazzers
Digital Playground
Reality Kings
Mofos
Twistys
Playboy
Wicked Pictures
They are involved with over 100 sites. No, I’m not kidding. If this wasn’t porn, I have a feeling they’d be more regulated and challenged by laws.
Stolen Content
One of the biggest issues with MindGeek companies is that they do not regulate stolen content. This means users can upload clips they got from any performer without that performer benefitting. There are even allegations that they cheat the system:
For example, one shady scenario involves a company that knowingly and willingly submits infringing content to its tube site — or pays others to do it for them — under the guise of “user” uploads. Then in an effort to seemingly comply with the DMCA, removes clips on request — only to have the compliance department send the removed material to the upload department, where this cynically cyclical process is endlessly repeated.
The monopoly MindGeek holds on streaming sites, in addition to the big production names they own or are involved with, makes it very difficult for performers to feel like they can speak up. Adult actress Tasha Reign said, “It’s like we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place in a way, because if I want to shoot content then I kinda have to shoot for [Mindgeek] because that’s the company that books me because they own…almost…everything.” The fear of being blacklisted by a company that owns nearly 100 sites is terrifying.
Siri, the owner of Abby Winters, said, “From personal experience, I know how hard it is to get my copyrighted content removed from tube sites – even the purportedly “legit” ones that porn magnate MindGeek owns still force copyright holders to jump through hoops to get our content removed from tube sites.” She goes on to explain that, like Walmart, MindGeek purposely has built a monopoly by providing ‘free’ content. Hell, they even profit more off pirated content than the stuff they produce and own.
It’s very costly to hire a legal team to issue DMCA takedown notices and threaten legal action, making it less accessible to people, too. That’s even more work someone has to do to afford to take legal action to keep the work they do from being pirated. At the end of the day, that costs too much in money, time, and energy for sex workers – especially disabled SWs.
That monopoly also forces a number of performers, sites, and stores who would object to MindGeek’s ethics to work with them. If they don’t, they’d likely cease to exist. This has been an issue for nearly a decade.
Like Walmart, the quality of films made goes way down. When the #PayForYourPorn movement started, Megan Wozniak – the marketing director of Adult DVD Empire – said, ”If people continue down this road, porn is not gonna get made. It’ll all be amateur content, and you won’t get the high-resolution, high production quality that you have with the studios. We just wanted to educate consumers who might not be aware of the effects of pirated content.”
This becomes even worse when we consider that, unlike other film-based industries, adult performers only get paid once for their appearances. They don’t get royalties or money from sales unless they’re a one-person show releasing their own content. That means working much harder for less overall pay, something that has a lot of performers afraid for their career safety.
