Netflix
- A former Pornhub video moderator said content that should've been removed "stayed up for months."
- The ex-MindGeek worker made the claims in the new Netflix documentary Money Shot: The Pornhub Story.
- It explores the dark side of porn through interviews with performers and industry workers.
Editor's note: This article contains references to child sexual exploitation material that some may find triggering. If you're a victim of exploitation and in need of support please contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children online at https://www.missingkids.org/
A former MindGeek moderator said many Pornhub videos that should've been taken down remained on the platform for months.
The ex-MindGeek worker said Pornhub received "thousands" of requests to take down videos that could include sexual exploitation of minors or non-consensual acts, but that moderators weren't able to get through them all.
"Many videos that should have been taken down stayed up for months," he said in a new Netflix documentary, Money Shot: The Pornhub Story, which is being released Wednesday.
The man, whose identity was not disclosed, claimed he reviewed 700 videos a day, but moderators were expected to review even more than that number.
"I think the company could have done more to prevent certain things and chose not to, and only really changed some things after it got in trouble," he said.
"We were scrubbing through videos as fast as we could. Even if we thought that we were being diligent with our work, we would still miss a few videos every now and then."
The ex-moderator said he couldn't tell the age of someone from the video and that it was "really hard" to determine if they were a minor.
"Basically, we would just guess then my manager would decide if the video would be taken down for good, or if it would go live again," he said. "The rules constantly changed."
Yiota Souras of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children says in the documentary that online companies defined as electronic service providers are required by US law to report apparent child pornography to the center when they become aware of it on their platform.
"The reporting statute only applies to US companies, so international companies have no obligation to register with NCMEC, to report child sexual abuse material to our CyberTipline or have any involvement with us altogether," Souras said.
Mindgeek registered to report to NCMEC in March 2020. It's headquartered in Luxembourg, according to its website, but it operates mostly from Montreal, Canada.
Money Shot: The Pornhub Story examines the history and dark side of Pornhub, as well as the censorship of sex workers. The documentary features interviews with former MindGeek employees, porn performers, journalists and industry workers. It's available to stream on Netflix globally from March 15.
MindGeek told Insider in a statement: "MindGeek's policy is to immediately remove any content that is found to be in violation of our terms of service, and to review any material that is reported by users, with no questions asked."
It added: "No user can upload content to our platforms without uploading a government-issued ID that passes third-party verification. Any user has the ability to disable a piece of content on our platforms by filling out the content removal request form, and our policy is to immediately and automatically disable the material for further review. These policies are just a small part of MindGeek's industry leading safeguards, which have resulted in NCMEC, the world's leading child protection organization, reporting that Pornhub has fewer incidents of child sexual abuse material, and removes cases of child sexual abuse material in the shortest amount of time after being notified, among all major platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and more.
"Any insinuation that we do not have enough moderators to thoroughly review all uploaded content is categorically false. The fight against illegal material on the internet must be led by effective policies, data and facts, and MindGeek is committed to remaining at the forefront of this fight."