Who would’ve thought that one of the world’s most ‘cultured’ websites would ever be banned on Instagram? After years of having what can only be called a love-hate relationship with Instagram, Pornhub finally had its account permanently banned last September. Most people would’ve closed the storybook at this point, but for some reason, just over this last weekend, PH’s account was reinstated, after being once again permanently banned (hopefully for real this time) on Tuesday (Feb 21, 2023).
Hit The Drums
To start, an Instagram Spokesperson told TechCrunch:
“This was done in error. As we’ve said previously, we permanently disabled this Instagram account for repeatedly violating our policies.”
Wow, who would’ve thought that an adult website could violate a photo-sharing app’s guidelines? Instagram’s content guidelines, of course, prohibit nudity and sexual solicitation. To its defense, a Pornhub Spokesperson also told TechCrunch that the platform believes that it did not violate any guidelines. Instagram hasn’t really commented on the exact ban reason or which specific policies were crossed.
What’s really worrying here, from a moderation standpoint, is how a supposed ‘permanently banned’ account can get accidentally switched on. To add to the above statement, Pornhub said that it even received a notification from Instagram, stating that the ban had been a mistake.
This conflict over Pornhub’s Instagram account illustrates a larger issue impacting creators like sex educators, pole dancers, etc. Despite their posts not likely violating guidelines, many have found their accounts to be prone to disabling or suspension. Instagram, laughably being a non-NSFW environment, doesn’t really make for a great choice for adult stars who are looking to expand their audience, though their relatively large followings help them with communication.
US Legislations like SESTA/FOSTA, which were passed in 2018, have made it harder for sex workers to safely and legally make a living. When their account received a permanent suspension notice last September, the platform shared an open letter to Meta on Twitter.
“Pornhub’s safe-for-work account has been disabled for three weeks. In the interim, Kim Kardashian has posted her fully exposed ass to her 330 million followers without any restrictive action from Instagram. We are happy to see that Kim and the artistic team behind the image are free to share their work on the platform, but question why we are denied the same treatment.”
Pornhub’s parent company MindGeek is currently facing multiple lawsuits that allege it has knowingly profited off of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), leading to the platform removing all non-verified content in December 2020.
The Wrap
Whether Pornhub’s relation to MindGeek was a factor in its banning, the lesson here is that platforms are legally required to report incidents related to CSAM to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline, though this does not necessarily require companies to proactively seek out CSAM flag and remove. Based on a 2021 report, Meta reported 22 million instances of CSAM on Facebook and over 3 million on Instagram.
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