Activists at #StopDataPorn, a collective of digital rights activists, have filed a complaint against Pornhub for breaches in GDPR.

Pornhub is one of the most popular websites in the world, and the most popular adult entertainment website in the world, hosting about 2 billion people a month. In 2022, the UK was the country with the second largest user base, topped only by the United States.

Now, the massive site is being challenged – not for its illicit content, it’s distribution of child abuse material, human trafficking allegations, or leaving up rape and revenge porn content  – for processing personal data of users sexual preferences illegally to share with unidentified third parties.

#StopDataPorn activists say that Pornhub flagrantly disregards GDPR, bringing charges against the pornography giant surrounding three main topics.

First of all, they claim that Pornhub does not ask for consent when processing user’s personal data which can be considered highly sensitive as it is related to their sex life and sexual orientation. Regardless of the sensitivity of the data, websites are obliged to ask for consent to process data under article 9 of the GDPR.

Activists claim that the trackers deployed by Pornhub are “virtually impossible to remove for an inexperienced user, and are designed to bypass any form of opt-out,” #StopDataPorn said in press release.

Next, digital rights activists have alleged that Pornhub shares user information with an unclear number of third parties, both outside their company and within its corporate conglomerate controlled by MindGeek, which also owns about 170 other companies, and was recently acquired by private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners.

This undisclosed dissemination of personal information constitutes an unlawful processing of data that is forbidden by the GDPR.

Finally, Pornhub feeds user data to a recommender system that unilaterally assigns sexual preferences to each individual user without their knowledge, without allowing users to contest this result. Activists say this classifies as unlawful profiling, which is conducted by exploiting users’ sensitive personal data for financial gain.

Research into the data tracking processes of Pornhub were conducted through the project pornhub.tracking.exposed, which gathered evidence using digital forensics tools and reverse engineering to expose the site’s recommender system, as well as scaping the data visible when navigating the platform.

The researchers not only found serious violations of user’s personal data, but bias in the recommender algorithm which researchers said reinforced a “heteronormative perspective on sexual desire and sexuality typical of heterosexual, white, and hegemonic masculinity.” While researchers found that the algorithm changed based on users’ self-declared gender and sexual interests, it still reiterated a white, male, heterosexual, and cis-gendered point of view.

According to Alessandro Polidoro, lead attorney of the litigation and digital rights activist, the abuses of data rights are occurring because Pornhub operates in the shadow that surrounds the porn industry in general.

“Platforms like Pornhub are hoarding information about everybody’s sexual orientation and trading it with business partners for a profit. They are capable of creating ‘lists’ naming who is gay and who is not, for instance, also knowing intimate secrets and kinks that people would not share even with their closest friends,” Polidoro said.

Pornography is rather ancient – depictions of sex go back to the Upper Palaeolithic, but despite the porn market earning around $35.17 billion globally a year, the industry is largely left in the dark due to stigma against sex work and sex in general.

Shoving the many issues of pornography under the rug enables it to become a necessary ‘evil’ of society rather than a regulated part of it, subject to the same laws and regulations as every other entertainment website.

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Polidoro says this ‘shadow’ makes it difficult for the porn industry to be accessed by regulators, policy makers, and the research community. This ultimately leaves everyone – from sex workers to sex viewers – at risk.

He added: “It is mandatory to put this massive processing of sensitive data into compliance with data protection law. Why are we letting porn platforms harvest personal data without even asking for consent?!”

Currently, #StopDataPorn is taking their case to the Italian data protection authority, though a current legal fight is taking place in Cyprus, where Pornhub’s European legal seat is located.

#StopDataPorn is urging the data protection authorities of both countries to recognise what they view a a systemic violation of data protection law by Pornhub, and to conduct a thorough investigation of Pornhub’s business practices.