Porn Industry Using COVID-19 to Exploit Children

The abortion industry isn’t the only one exploiting the COVID-19 crisis for their own bottom line. Pornhub, the world’s largest pornography website, is also jumping into the fray by making its premium content free worldwide. Amidst the coronavirus crisis, media accounts estimate over 1 billion people are in lock-down and Pornhub has declared their content is an “enjoyable way to pass the time.”

The adult website has been working hard to bolster its public image by engaging in other grand gestures of “philanthropy” during this pandemic. But let’s not forget, before the coronavirus outbreak Pornhub was embroiled in controversy because it has consistently and repeatedly failed to remove obscene and illegal content from its site—content that depicts children and sex-trafficking victims. Pornhub itself has not denied its top searches involve the word “teen,” but they’re not doing much because their premium users have made them billions of dollars. But others are doing something. To-date almost one million people have signed a petition to shut down Pornhub because of its inextricable connection to the trafficking industry.

Just a month ago, we shared two stories of child victims’ horrific experiences that Pornhub was only too happy to exploit for profit. Unfortunately, these stories are countless and Pornhub isn’t the only one using global quarantines to profit off grossly illegal content.

Snapchat, (a popular social media platform primarily used by teens to exchange photos) has been clearly and explicitly encouraging teens to engage in “sexting” during the quarantine. Several major problems here, but probably the biggest one is teens exchanging explicit photos is child pornography and unquestionably illegal. Sexting also exposes our children to graphic and addictive content published by their own peers. This is sick. When companies unashamedly make vulgar appeals to promote and profit off of the victimization of women and children, we need people who will stand up and do something.

Now is the time for our Attorney General to take immediate action to hold these billion-dollar companies accountable for their appalling disregard of the law and their victims. America has laws on the books to hold these corporations accountable and they must be enforced!

If you haven’t done so already, take 30 seconds and add your name to the list of thousands of other names urging Attorney General Barr to make prosecuting obscenity—and the companies that distribute it—a priority!

Our children can’t wait.

Stephanie Curry
Policy Manager