Jun 29, 2022 19:00:00

It is pointed out that it is not the government or international treaties that actually regulate the adult industry, but the 'credit card companies'

Websites dealing with pornographic videos and other adult content often change the rules of permissible sexual content, forcing radical modifications or discontinuing the product itself. The Financial Times, a financial and economic media outlet, points out that it is not the government or international treaties that actually regulate such an adult industry, but 'credit card companies such as

Mastercard and Visa .'

Inside the secret, often bizarre world that decides what porn you see | Financial Times
https://www.ft.com/content/cff23e36-b507-4717-8830-8b06741c8fd5

In 2020, 'Pornhub, the world's largest adult video site, has posted a lot of child pornography and revenge porn, and Pornhub is making money from it,' the New York Times, a major newspaper, reported. .. In response, Mastercard and Visa have announced that they will stop paying for Pornhub, and MindGeek , which runs Pornhub, and online sex workers havebeen in trouble .

Mastercard and Visa stop making payments to the world's largest adult movie 'Pornhub', suspected of child sexual abuse content --GIGAZINE

One of the people involved in the move was Bill Ackman, the founder and CEO of a company called Pershing Square Capital Management. Pershing Square Capital Management is an activist fund that buys shares of listed companies in billions of dollars (hundreds of billions of yen) and influences the company's business practices and stock prices. Acman was indignant at the New York Times report and sent a link to the article with the message 'We should stop working with Pornhub immediately' to then Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga . It was said that.

Only a few days later, Mastercard announced that it would stop paying for Pornhub. Although not necessarily just because Ackman sent the link, the Financial Times said of Ackman's actions 'it's easy to imagine that it helped to unbalance Mastercard.' Mr. Acman understands that credit card companies such as Mastercard act faster than governments and regulators with a bureaucratic system: 'What are credit card companies allowed and what are allowed?' You have to be a de facto regulator of content that shouldn't be. '

In the end, Pornhub decided to remove the content uploaded by unauthorized users, reducing the number of videos from over 13 million to about 3 million. 'This was probably the biggest content removal in the history of the Internet,' the Financial Times said.

Pornhub deletes more than 10 million movies, unauthorized users are prohibited from uploading to eliminate illegal content --GIGAZINE

by Prachatai

Hollywood movies had a self-regulatory clause called the Motion Picture Production Code in the 1930s and 1960s, and many major movies were made in line with this. However, the haze code in the pornography industry is not maintained by companies such as MindGeek, but by an ecosystem such as credit card companies, payment services, and banks.

According to the 'Best Practices Document for the Pornography Industry' by Mobius Pay, a payment processor obtained by the Financial Times, 'radical terms', 'depictions of actual harm caused by weapons and violence', 'suggestions of rape', and 'incest' It seems that a wide range of prohibited items such as 'hypnosis and mind control performance' were stipulated. Mobius Pay makes payments via credit card on Pornhub and sets these terms in accordance with the 'principles' set by Visa and Mastercard.

When deciding the content and wording regulated by Mobius Pay, it seems that discussions with Mastercard and Visa will also be held, but it is the Mobius Pay side that decides the specific clause from the principle of the original rough and vague credit card company. is. For example, Mobius Pay prohibits all bloody depictions based on Mastercard's prohibition of 'damage and amputation', and 'bestiality' is prohibited, so 'sexual activity with aliens' is also prohibited. It seems that it is doing.

Visa and Mastercard did not respond to an interview with the Financial Times, but both companies said that 'even if the transaction is unpleasant or morally suspicious, the priority is to support legal transactions.' Was emphasized. Mastercard justified the decision at the time, claiming that the main factor was 'legality' and that Mastercard stopped trading with Pornhub 'because illegal videos were being delivered on the site'. ..

Not only Pornhub and those who upload illegal videos, but also sex workers who do legitimate delivery can face problems that are plagued by these corporate regulations. According to Jessica Stoya, an actress, writer and distributor of adult videos, 'physiology' is an NG word on online paid adult distribution sites. Therefore, even if you can't perform as usual because of your period, you can't explain it to the viewer verbally or chat.

It seems that menstruation is an NG word because it is related to 'blood', 'We are gathering people who awaken to sex in a culture where menstruation is completely eliminated.' Commented Mr. Stoya. He points out that Visa and Mastercard have more power than the Pope when it comes to pornography, saying, 'It's not the government, but the companies and credit card companies that decide whether to be sexually permissible or not.'

Unlike most government decisions, censorship by credit card companies has no specific process, and there is little prior discussion or public explanation with the parties, Stoya said. 'I don't think I can go to Mastercard's office and say,'Hello, I'd like to have a dialogue as a citizen on this issue.'' 'Who is mediating what is possible with sexual media?' ? I don't know. Did they take a philosophy class? Do they have a degree in women's studies? ' In addition, there was no philosopher in the regulators such as credit card companies that Financial Times contacted, there was one sociologist and several lawyers, but they set themselves up as payment and risk managers, Or he thinks he's a promoter of commerce, and no one claims to be an expert in pornography regulation.