Meta has permanently banned Pornhub from Instagram for ‘repeatedly violating’ its policies on nudity, adult content and sexual solicitation.
The move comes three weeks after the porn website’s official account was disabled, which operators assumed was temporary.
Pornhub has responded by posting an open letter on Twitter, arguing that the platform’s policies have been ‘opaque, discriminatory and hypocritical’.
It cites the image of Kim Kardashian where her rear end is exposed that remains on Instagram as an example of the latter.
The site also claims that the removal of its account is ‘profoundly damaging’ to the independent creators who utilise Instagram as a ‘vital marketing tool’.
Meta has permanently banned Pornhub from Instagram for ‘repeatedly violating’ its policies on nudity, adult content and sexual solicitation
Pornhub released its letter on rival social media platform Twitter, where it slams Instagram for ‘censoring’ the porn industry. It said: ‘Denying us an ability to promote our brands and grow our businesses while continuously erasing, silencing, and censoring the presence of sex workers and adult brands is violent and profoundly damaging’
The Pornhub account, which had over 13 million followers at the time, was initially disabled on September 2.
According to a screenshot shared with The New York Post, Instagram sent Pornhub a message saying: ‘Your account has been disabled for not following our terms.
‘You won’t be able to log into this account and no one else will be able to see it.’
The message also contained a list of content that is banned on Instagram, including ‘hate speech’ and ‘graphic… depictions of sexual assault’, but did not include any mention of sexual solicitation.
A spokesperson for the site told Motherboard this was temporary and a routine move on Meta’s part.
However, shortly after the account came down, anti-trafficking organisation the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) came forward taking credit for the action – a claim that was later refuted by Pornhub.
A Pornhub spokesperson said: ‘Anti-porn crusaders like NCOSE intentionally misled reporters about why Pornhub’s Instagram profile was disabled, and actively misled people into believing they were responsible.
‘Instagram does not take business dictation from anti-porn zealots, especially ones with noted histories of propagating false information and extremist policies against sex workers.
‘In actuality, our account was temporarily disabled, as has happened many times in the past due to Instagram’s overly cautious censoring of the adult industry, a fact that thousands of adult performers deal with everyday despite not violating any of Instagram’s terms of service.
‘We look forward to our account being reactivated, as it always has.’
In response, the NCOSE told Motherboard it had been ‘sharing evidence of criminality on Pornhub with Instagram’ before requesting the account be taken down.
Pornhub went on to write that Instagram permits mainstream celebrities and brands to post explicit content without repercussion. It used Kim Kardashian as an example, who posted an image of herself on an Interview Magazine cover with her bum is fully exposed (pictured)
On Tuesday evening, a spokesperson for Meta – the company that owns Instagram as well as Facebook and WhatsApp – announced via Motherboard that the ban was permanent.
‘We’ve permanently disabled this Instagram account for repeatedly violating our policies,’ the spokesperson said.
They did not specify which policies it violated, however they did point to its terms of use regarding adult content, nudity, and sexual solicitation.
As an example of the latter, the spokesperson told The New York Post that Pornhub was encouraging users to leave Instagram and visit a porn site.
They added that the infractions had been accrued by the account over a ten-year period, although they did not specify how many there had been.
Pornhub responded by releasing its letter on rival social media platform Twitter, where it slams Instagram for ‘censoring’ the porn industry.
It said: ‘Denying us an ability to promote our brands and grow our businesses while continuously erasing, silencing, and censoring the presence of sex workers and adult brands is violent and profoundly damaging.
‘Combined with the regular financial discrimination those in the adult industry face, it is dangerous and threatening to our livelihoods.’
The letter was endorsed by sex workers, models and activist organisations like the Free Speech Coalition and Adult Performance Artists Guild.
However, on Tuesday evening, a spokesperson for Meta – the company that owns Instagram as well as Facebook and WhatsApp – announced via Motherboard that the ban was permanent
Pornhub went on to write that Instagram permits mainstream celebrities and brands to post explicit content without repercussion.
It used Kim Kardashian as an example, who posted an image of herself on an Interview Magazine cover with her bum is fully exposed.
The letter said: ‘Kim Kardashian has posted her fully exposed ass to her 330 million followers without any restrictive action from Instagram.
‘We are happy to see that Kim and the artistic team behind the image are free to share their work on the platform, but question why we are denied the same treatment.
‘While Kim’s photo continues accumulating likes and making headlines, members of the adult community run the risk of deplatforming if Instagram decides our pants look a bit too tight to meet its arbitrary and selectively-enforced ‘standards’.
The group representing Pornhub feel sex workers and performers are ‘unfairly targeted’ by Instagram, despite ‘taking extra care not to violate Instagram’s Community Guidelines’.
They go on to demand an explanation as to why the accounts are continuously deleted and posts are removed even when they do not breach the app’s rules.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk