Pornhub collects and processes “highly sensitive” user data without consent and shares this information with third parties, activists with the StopDataPorn initiative said in a complaint filed with Italy’s data protection watchdog on Thursday.
The complaint argues that Pornhub’s practices violate the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). If found guilty, Pornhub could face severe penalties, including a fine.
In an email to VPNOverview, Alessandro Polidoro, the lead attorney of StopDataPorn, emphasized the importance of holding Pornhub accountable for its alleged data violations.
“By challenging the tech giant Pornhub, we want to break the cultural taboo that surrounds the whole pornography industry in a way that makes it difficult to be accessed by regulators and civil society,” he said.
Polidoro explained that the litigation is part of efforts to foster international cooperation among European data protection authorities and trigger a deeper analysis of online porn platforms, which are still under-regulated.
“This litigation started in Italy and quickly moved to Cyprus, in order to bring the judicial fight where Pornhub’s legal seat is located,” he added.
Pornhub’s Alleged Violations of the GDPR
According to StopDataPorn, Pornhub does not get consent when collecting and processing users’ data. This is a violation of Article 9 of the GDPR.
“The lawfulness of the data processing must be grounded in consent and not in the legitimate interest of the platform, a consent that must also be clear and explicit due to the sensitive nature of the information pertaining users’ sexual preferences,” Polidoro explained.
StopDataPorn is also accusing Pornhub of sharing user data with an unknown number of third parties, both within and outside its corporate network.
Polidoro criticized Pornhub’s lack of transparency, despite multiple inquiries via Data Subject Access Requests. He explained that this is a violation of Articles 12, 13, and 15 of the GDPR.
“The undeclared dissemination of personal information constitures an unlawful processing of data that is forbidden by the GDPR,” StopDataPorn said in its press release.
The group is also accusing Pornhub of using its algorithm to illegally profile users “without their knowledge and not allowing anybody to contest this result.” This unlawful practice exploits users’ sensitive personal data for financial gain, the complaint said.
Polidoro said Pornhub’s automated decision-making system, which unilaterally assigns sexual preferences to users, violates Article 22 of the GDPR.
The outcome of the case could have far-reaching implications for other porn sites operating in Europe.
Giulia Corona, the founder of StopDataPorn, told VPNOverview that the group decided to focus on Pornhub because it’s the largest adult site, with over 150 million daily active visitors.
“Pornography sites get more visitors each month than Netflix, Amazon, and Twitter combined,” she said. “The processing of these users’ data is the elephant in the room, Pornhub takes some of this data and uses some of it to advertise itself with Pornhub Insights. What happens to all the data?”
Corona also emphasized the importance of looking at third-party service providers within the porn industry, like marketers, who have received little scrutiny from regulators, policymakers, and researchers.
Protecting Your Privacy on Pornhub
The complaint against Pornhub highlights the importance of safeguarding your data in the digital age.
While StopDataPorn’s focus is on the actions of this specific platform, such abuses of user data are common among many popular apps and websites today. For example, in May, a Dutch consumer group announced a massive lawsuit against Google for collecting and processing users’ data without consent.
We recommend using an anonymous browser and a virtual private network (VPN) to protect your privacy while accessing porn sites like Pornhub. It’s important to also review the privacy policies of these websites to know what data they collect and how it’s used. Read our guide to watching porn anonymously for more safety tips.
