Pornhub has been “permanently” banned from Instagram, even though the adult streaming service said its account was “fully PG.”
According to reports, Instagram deleted Pornhub’s official account from its platform earlier this month in response to pressure from conservative anti-pornography groups.
“We’ve permanently disabled this Instagram account for repeatedly violating our policies,” a Meta spokesperson told the outlet on Tuesday (27 September).
Instagram stated that Pornhub’s account has been violating terms of service for a decade.
Instagram also claimed to have alerted Pornhub about posts that breached the terms of service. The social media network did not specify which terms Pornhub had breached.
They did, however, refer to its terms of use covering adult material, nudity, and sexual solicitation, as well as guidelines centered on cumulative breaches of its terms.
Pornhub went to Twitter on Tuesday to release an open letter signed by 63 pornographers, actors, models, and industry action groups.
Riley Reid, Lucy Hart, and the Free Speech Coalition were among those who signed the letter.
“Sex workers and performers have been unfairly targeted in the form of bans, shadow bans, suspensions, loss of Live privileges, and content removal, despite taking extra care not to violate Instagram’s Community Guidelines,” the letter states.
Pornhub also stated that the account was “fully PG,” emphasizing the disparity in treatment of mainstream celebrities who publish nudity on the platform, such as Kim Kardashian, vs adult content providers.
“Pornhub’s safe-for-work account has been disabled for three weeks. In the interim, Kim Kardashian has posted her fully exposed a** to her 330 million followers without any restrictive action from Instagram,” the letter continues, referencing the photo of Kardashian wearing a thong in a photoshoot.
Many content creators have been banned while claiming to have followed the site’s guidelines. Nonetheless, they had been de-platformed and were losing visibility, supporters, and a source of cash.
Pornhub’s account was originally deactivated three weeks ago, and a spokeswoman for the firm stated that the suspension was only temporary since it has “occurred numerous times in the past owing to Instagram’s excessively careful censorship of the adult sector.”
Regardless, the decision is definitive, according to Instagram.