More than one hundred thousand pornographers are looking for another revenue stream after PayPal announced Wednesday that it would no longer work with PornHub.
The change does not directly affect PornHub’s users, instead targeting the content creators who profit from getting views on their videos, much like YouTube, Vice reported. PayPal is only the most recent payment company to be distancing itself from the sex work industry, as JPMorgan Chase, Visa/MasterCard, and Square have all denied certain services to companies in the sex industry. (RELATED: Facebook Says It Removed Tens Of Millions Of Posts Violating Rules On Child Pornography, Hate Speech, And Harassment)
“We are all devastated by PayPal’s decision to stop payouts to over a hundred thousand performers who rely on them for their livelihoods,” the site said on its blog. “We sincerely apologize if this causes any delays and we will have staff working around the clock to make sure all payouts are processed as fast as possible on the new payment methods.”
Pornhub website homepage. It is a pornographic video sharing website and the largest pornography site on the Internet. (Shutterstock)
PornHub provided its content creators, whom they refer to as “models,” with alternative ways to receive payments for their views.
PayPal’s terms of service includes a ban on “certain sexually oriented materials or services,” which allowed it to take action against PornHub, releasing a statement to Vice saying it found problems with the porn site during a review. (RELATED: How To Nuke The Porn Industry And Save The American Family)
“We have discovered that Pornhub has made certain business payments through PayPal without seeking our permission. We have taken action to stop these transactions from occurring,” a spokesperson for the company said, according to Vice.