How to fix Xhamster
The recent move by Xhamster to limit video uploads only to verified users probably reflects recent legal action to prosecute owners of porn sites for publishing videos that were not authorized by the people in the videos (i.e. "revenge porn"). The first successful prosecution of a site owner for this kind of material was in 2015 in the US.
https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Revenge-porn-site-runner-gets-18-years-in-6178500.php
Since then similar legislation has been rolled out in many European countries where the major porn sites are based, including Xhamster.
To protect the site owners, Xhamster needs to verify the identity users so they can contact them if there is a complaint about an upload. Unfortunately this takes away the anonymity that most amateur performers need for social and work reasons.
Clearly there is an enormous demand for a platform that allows amateurs to show their stuff to the world anonymously and find like minded people through that medium. Xhamster was reportedly started to meet exactly that need as the "Facebook of Porn".
https://thenextweb.com/news/the-almost-invisible-men-and-women-behind-the-worlds-largest-porn-sites
Preventing unverified users from uploading videos shuts down the community side completely and turns Xhamster into a simple pro porn only site.
A simple solution might be to allow un-verified users only to upload video that shows no faces (i.e. blurred out faces or shots only below the shoulders). Most amateur performers do that anyway, precisely because they want to remain anonymous. This would automatically screen out revenge porn because if the performers cant be recognized, then they cant be shamed in the real world.
It would also have the added benefit of screening out almost all commercial copyright violations because almost all commercial porn shows faces.
For amateur and semi-pro users who are happy to show their face on video, the verification process should not be an issue since they are happy to deal with the social issues around going public and presumably want to promote their image.
https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Revenge-porn-site-runner-gets-18-years-in-6178500.php
Since then similar legislation has been rolled out in many European countries where the major porn sites are based, including Xhamster.
To protect the site owners, Xhamster needs to verify the identity users so they can contact them if there is a complaint about an upload. Unfortunately this takes away the anonymity that most amateur performers need for social and work reasons.
Clearly there is an enormous demand for a platform that allows amateurs to show their stuff to the world anonymously and find like minded people through that medium. Xhamster was reportedly started to meet exactly that need as the "Facebook of Porn".
https://thenextweb.com/news/the-almost-invisible-men-and-women-behind-the-worlds-largest-porn-sites
Preventing unverified users from uploading videos shuts down the community side completely and turns Xhamster into a simple pro porn only site.
A simple solution might be to allow un-verified users only to upload video that shows no faces (i.e. blurred out faces or shots only below the shoulders). Most amateur performers do that anyway, precisely because they want to remain anonymous. This would automatically screen out revenge porn because if the performers cant be recognized, then they cant be shamed in the real world.
It would also have the added benefit of screening out almost all commercial copyright violations because almost all commercial porn shows faces.
For amateur and semi-pro users who are happy to show their face on video, the verification process should not be an issue since they are happy to deal with the social issues around going public and presumably want to promote their image.
3 years ago
