‘Money Shot: The Pornhub Story’ review: Shedding light on the adult industry

Over the past decade, Pornhub It exploded in terms of both brand awareness and controversy.

Netflix will cover these topics in a new documentary. Money Shot: Pornhub Story, drops on Wednesday, March 15th. In addition to showing a brief history of internet porn and the tube giant itself, money shot — directed by Suzanne Hillinger — details the anti-porn and anti-sex activism that uses Pornhub as a catchall for the entire adult industry.

In an interview with people involved in the porn industry and those who want to break the industry, money shot We take a fair and clear look at the growing censorship battle being fought online and how porn performers are at the forefront.

Performer Siri Dar said in the documentary, “If the attack on porn continues in the direction it’s going, this isn’t just an attack on porn. It’s an attack on women’s sexuality. It’s an attack on queer sexuality.” It’s an attack,” he said. That people can express themselves openly, especially online. “

What is money shot almost?

money shot describes the rise of tube sites such as Pornhub in the early 2000s and how these sites were built with pirated content. Founded in 2007, Pornhub changed the industry By forcing studios and creators to change the way content is produced and distributed. Eventually, the studio began partnering with Pornhub, and Pornhub’s parent company, MindGeek, also began acquiring studios and other tubes.

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Thanks to its search engine optimization strategy (meaning it grabbed the top spot on Google searches) and its smart decision to advertise in Times Square and publish yearly traffic insights, Pornhub has become a popular became a familiar name.

Prior to 2020, Pornhub users had to be verified in order to make money from their content, while unverified users could upload content. This led to bad actors posting illegal content (CSAM, Child Sexual Abuse Material, etc.) on Pornhub. Other social platforms such as Facebook(opens in new tab).

Exodus Cry, Conservative Christian Right(opens in new tab) group, led human trafficking hub(opens in new tab) A campaign calling for a complete shutdown of Pornhub.The real-life sex trafficking story highlighted in the campaign “has nothing to do with us as an industry,” says performer Asa Akira. money shot.

Despite this, Traffickinghub grabbed attention. new york times Columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote in December 2020: “Children of Pornhub”.(opens in new tab) The piece went viral and called for the site to be shut down.

Performer Shelly Deville said in the documentary, “It’s a nightmare for us, because when you present two unrelated things in a paper as closely related, everyone will believe you.” Because it’s outrageous and horrible and nobody wants it.They say, ‘It’s garbage and we need to get rid of it.'”

“They don’t understand that sex work and sex trafficking are two different things,” Akira said. By definition, sex work is consensual. Rape without consent.

After the editorial, Pornhub removed millions of unverified videos and changed its policy to only allow verified accounts to upload content. Performers and employees have been asking for the latter for years. Following pressure from Exodus Cry and another anti-porn group, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) (formerly known as Morality in Media), Visa and Mastercard stopped processing his payments on Pornhub. .

money shot It also discusses Bill FOSTA-SESTA, which was passed in 2018. Section 230 Section 230 basically states that online platforms are not responsible for illegal content that people publish there. FOSTA-SESTA amends this to make platforms responsible for posted “sexually soliciting” content.

But FOSTA-SESTA didn’t solve the problem.it actually It became more difficult to find traffickers(opens in new tab)The bill also created the potential to abolish social platforms, silence sex workers, undermine their livelihoods, and force them into less safe forms of work.

Bearing the brunt of FOSTA-SESTA’s aftermath and virality new york times The pieces were felt by sex workers. Criticism of the porn industry, and more recently, Pornhub is used as shorthand for the porn industry, but when it comes to hurting performers most, porn historian and former MindGeek employee Noelle Perdue said: says.

WHY YOU SHOULD SEE money shot

money shot Amplify the voices of sex workers and porn industry advocates. They explain that sex work and sex trafficking are different things and how conflating the two hurts sex workers and people online who want to express their sexuality. NCOSE and groups like it want to eradicate pornography and sex work as a whole.

Performer Gwen Adora claimed, “They don’t care about the victims.” money shot“They are only interested in making the porn industry as small as possible.” The failure of FOSTA-SESTA is one example.

However, documentaries are not one-sided. money shot Also featured is Senior General Counsel to NCOSE Dani Pinter. He claims that Pornhub made the performers dependent on it, apparently seeing the performers as victims.

The film also suggests influences beyond the adult industry. Sex workers are the “canary in the coal mine” for censorship.recent case Section 230 Hearing and anti-LGBTQ laws(opens in new tab) Freedom of speech for non-sex workers is also at stake.

one criticism of money shot Appears at the end of the documentary. then Vice President and General Counsel (currently Chief Legal Officer) Yoota Souras of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) seems to imply that Section 230 should be changed and platforms should be held responsible for the content hosted there. But there is no reaction to how it will fundamentally change the Internet.

As Mashable’s Elizabeth de Luna explained, Amendments to Section 230 Additionally, if someone is upset enough to take legal action, you, the user, could be held liable for what you say on the platform. It may cause you to implement it and act as de facto censorship.

Overall, but money shot We treat Pornhub and the adult industry with nuance and care. Let’s hope the rest of the internet takes note.