YouTube takes Pornhub’s official channel offline

Video service YouTube has taken the official channel of porn site Pornhub offline. The site had the channel for eight years and had approximately 900,000 subscribers on the platform. The Pornhub channel is said to have broken several rules.

For example, the channel would have linked to sites whose content on YouTube itself is not allowed and that is against the rules, the Google subsidiary tells Variety. “We enforce our policies equally for everyone,” a YouTube spokesperson said. “Channels that repeatedly break the rules or are dedicated to violent content will be removed.”

Pornhub parent company MindGeek denies that the channel linked to sites with content banned on YouTube. “We are careful not to violate YouTube’s rules on our channel,” the company said. MindGeek claims the channel’s ban is related to discrimination against the sex industry. YouTube’s arbitrary enforcement of its policy against Pornhub and the people in the sex industry is dangerous and harmful. We ask that social media companies treat us the same as they treat others.”

At the time of the takedown, Pornhub’s channel had approximately 900,000 subscribers and included videos about fashion, music and Pornhub’s awards. It was mainly used as a promotional channel for the site. Earlier this year, Pornhub lost its Instagram account.

Pornhub channel YouTube, December 2022