Pornhub ‘Collaborators’ streamlines performer consent verification
Pornhub Collaborators is a new ‘tagging’ system that has been launched to allow porn performers to tag content on the site featuring other performers, with the goal of streamlining proof of consent processes.
The feature, called ‘Collaborators’, is designed to allow porn performers to easily give the ‘OK’ for further videos they feature in to be published on Pornhub. It also allows performers to give consent to appear in any further videos they may be tagged in, without examining them individually.
The introduction of the Collaborators tagging function comes as Pornhub, the biggest porn site in the world, is under pressure to shore up its performer consent and verification processes as well as age verification for users. Aylo, the company that owns Pornhub, has blocked the site in various US states recently, saying it cannot legally comply with new, tougher age verification laws.
Verified porn performers on Pornhub can now opt in to the Collaborators system. Once they’ve done so, they can tag other verified porn performers on the site. The tagged performer needs to accept the tag for it to stand, and act as confirmation that they gave consent for the other performer to upload content they feature in.
Previously, performer consent for newly-uploaded porn videos on Pornhub would have required consent declarations to be uploaded from all those featuring in it. Pornhub said: “If you already have an accepted Collaboration request, you do not need to add them as a Co-Performer or submit their paperwork. The Collaboration request serves as both identification and consent for both you and your Collaborator to upload content in which you both appear.”
Pornhub added that the move would “elevate and enhance” its verification processes.
While this kind of video tagging may indeed be a quicker process than uploading documents to prove consent, Pornhub is encouraging porn performers to turn the ‘auto-accept’ function on Collaborators on. When turned on, all tagging requests are automatically accepted, and consent is considered to be given to them even if they aren’t individually scrutinized by all performers in them.
Also, Pornhub said that if a porn performer decides to withdraw their consent for a video they are tagged in to be published, the video will not be automatically removed if they attempt to de-tag themselves. Instead, they will have to formally request that Pornhub remove the video.
Pornhub published further details about how to use Collaborators on X. It claimed that Pornhub’s moderation team would check that models were correctly tagged.
Pornhub has been forced into an ethical reckoning of sorts in the past few years, after the site was accused of hosting illegal content and failing to gain the consent of all the people who allegedly appeared in its porn content. The site has got tougher on ensuring that performers confirm they are of legal age to submit porn to the site, and that they provide consent to appear on it.
In 2023 MindGeek, the company behind Pornhub plus sister sites such as Redtube and Youporn, rebranded to Aylo and was acquired by an investment group called Ethical Capital Partners. Hundreds of thousands of videos had been purged from the site, as it sought to rid itself of potentially illegal content.
While Pornhub claims to have gone through a period of big change, Aylo chiefs have been reluctant to implement sweeping user age verification changes to comply with toughening laws across the US. Instead, Aylo has blocked Pornhub in many states, saying that authorities should be looking to enforce age verification through devices rather than directly on porn sites.
