Tech

Instagram takes down another Pornhub account in crackdown

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Published Oct. 27, 2022, 4:36 p.m. ET

Instagram took down a new account set up by Pornhub after the adult-content site attempted to get around its ban on the social media platform.

Pornhub’s original account was permanently deleted from the app in September for repeatedly violating Instagram’s community guidelines, including a ban on sexual solicitation, over the course of more than 10 years, according to Meta, the social media site’s parent company.

However, Pornhub touted it created another Instagram account with a tweet on Twitter last week. 

“We are BACK on Instagram with our new official account: p.hub.forever 🖤🧡,” the tweet announced on October 18.

The account was removed Wednesday. 

“We’ve permanently disabled this Instagram account for repeatedly violating our policies,” said a Meta spokesperson on the matter. 

Pornhub did not respond to a request for comment about the removal of the second account.

In an open letter to Meta executives, Pornhub said that Instagram allows racy pictures from celebrities like Kim Kardashian, while censoring content from the adult industry and sex workers.
In an open letter to Meta executives, Pornhub said that Instagram allows racy pictures from celebrities like Kim Kardashian, while censoring content from the adult industry and sex workers. Interview Magazine/ Nadia Lee Co

The original Pornhub account had 13.1 million followers and more than 6,200 posts. 

The company had slammed the social networking site after the original ban, protesting that it allows Kim Kardashian’s nudes on the portal while unfairly censoring sex workers and the porn industry. 

Instagram’s initial crackdown on Pornhub came after Visa and Mastercard cut off ad payments to its parent company MindGeek. The decision came after a federal judge ruled against Visa’s bid to be removed from a lawsuit against MindGeek for the alleged distribution of child pornography content.

MindGeek had said it has “zero tolerance for the posting of illegal content on its platforms, and has instituted the most comprehensive safeguards in user-generated platform history. … Any insinuation that MindGeek does not take the elimination of illegal material seriously is categorically false,” responding to the claims.