Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero / The Daily Beast / Getty
In September, 26 attorneys general wrote to Pornhub about an alleged “loophole” that they say could allow uploads of child pornography. The so-called loophole? No-face porn, a genre in which performers are only seen below the neck, so that you see their adult bodies but not their heads. The attorneys general claim PornHub forces these stars to upload photo IDs to verify their ages, but since they don’t have to include their faces in the videos, this “loophole” could lead to uploads of content featuring minors.
The lawyers claim they want to protect children by “ensur[ing] that no children or other victims are being abused for profit on any of [Pornhub’s] platforms.” But look further and you’ll see the end result of their baseless campaign is to harm the porn industry.
The lawyers’ argument makes little sense. In their letter, they write like PornHub earns much of its profits from these no-face videos. But even millions of views on a free no-face video rakes in just pennies. Just as streaming music doesn’t pay musicians well, neither does streaming porn. Furthermore, no-face porn is a niche genre; if you look at PornHub’s most-viewed videos, they show people’s faces. Saying PornHub runs on no-face porn is like saying Hollywood runs on indie movies.