XHamster tells court it can’t monitor consent for “old” amateur porn videos
Pornography website xhamster.com said it cannot check whether the people who appear in the amateur adult videos from before 2021 gave consent for those videos to be published on the website. Taking those videos offline is also not an option, as far as the porn site is concerned.
The website’s stance became apparent on Monday during a court hearing on a lawsuit filed by EOKM. The organization provides research and expertise regarding online abuse, including cases where children are victimized. EOKM argued that there are victims who do not want their sexual encounters to be featured on a pornographic website at all, saying they are being harmed.
In the court in Amsterdam, EOKM presented several examples of the amateur films that “verified members” can upload on xHamster. The organization specifically referenced one video entitled, “Fries tienerteefje,” which has been viewed more than 100,000 times. The video’s title translates as, “Frisian Teen Bitch. EOKM also mentioned another, called, “lieve pijpbeurt,” or "sweet blowjob."
The foundation argued that it is not known whether the women seen in the amateur videos have given their consent. For example, they may have fallen victim to revenge porn or a hacker may have obtained the footage. A consent form was sent with the latter video, but it was submitted by the man. Only his genitals are visible in the video.
EOKM started the case after victims came forward using the foundation's helpline. The foundation demanded that videos be removed from the website if the site has not obtained the consent of all parties who appear on screen. Previously, a similar case was successfully litigated against porn site vagina.nl. "The widespread violation of privacy rights is a major social problem."
The lawyers for xHamster.com said the foundation's demands were disproportionate. They argued that permission forms have been used since 2021, saying and that since then it is not possible to post video without permission.
When asked by the judge whether xHamster.com finds it problematic that this may be the case regarding videos uploaded before 2021, the lawyers said that it is not relevant because it can no longer be screened. "There are too many videos for that." But if xHamster.com learns that someone is on their website against their will, they the site administrators "remove the video.”
The court will rule on the case on April 12.