In December 2020, after a widely read newspaper column, Pornhub limited uploads to verified members of its creator programme and approved partners, restricted downloads and removed unverified videos. Card networks stopped supporting payments. Verification confirms who uploads, but it cannot guarantee consent from everyone in a video, so moderation and outside oversight still matter.
The short version
December 2020 is the most important month in the company's recent history. In a few days the platform went from an open-upload model to a verified-only one, lost mainstream card support and removed a huge share of its library from public view.
This article explains the sequence, what verified uploading means in practice and where the limits lie.
A timeline of the month
- 4 December: a New York Times column by Nicholas Kristof criticised the platform's content controls.
- Around 8 December: the company announced that only verified people could upload, and that downloads would be restricted.
- Around 10 December: Visa and Mastercard announced they would stop supporting card payments, and Discover was reported to follow.
- 14 December: videos from unverified uploaders were taken out of public view pending review.
Exact dates vary slightly between outlets, so treat them as approximate. Reported figures put the library at about 13 million videos before the purge and about 4 million afterwards.
What verified uploading means
Before publishing, an uploader must prove their identity and adult status. Early 2021 reporting described a third-party identity provider doing the check, with the platform not viewing the documents itself. Verified uploaders are either members of the creator programme or approved content partners working under agreements.
The aim is accountability. If every uploader is a known adult, harmful uploads can be traced and removed, and anonymous mass uploading stops.
The moderation toolkit
The company has described several layers. Software compares uploads with known illegal files. Human moderators review flagged items. Outside organisations can flag content through a Trusted Flagger programme with more than 40 partners, as described in early 2021. Anyone can use the report option on a page, and takedown requests are handled by dedicated teams.
| Layer | What it does | Main limit |
|---|---|---|
| Identity check | Confirms the uploader | Not other people shown |
| Content matching | Blocks known files | Misses brand-new files |
| Human review | Judges context | Volume and error |
| Public reports | Catches what others miss | Only after publication |
What verification cannot do
Verification proves who is uploading, not who else appears or whether they consented. Press coverage of the 2023 ownership change noted that the new owners were reviewing this gap. In September 2025 US regulators announced a settlement that required verifying the consent and identity of people appearing in content, and alleged that earlier measures, including a fingerprinting system, had been ineffective for a period. Aylo disputed none of the settlement's terms publicly but said they largely matched work already under way.
The lesson is that every safeguard has limits, and a layered approach with outside audits is stronger than any single tool.
What this means for you
For readers, verified-only uploading is a meaningful improvement over open uploading, but not a promise of perfection. If you see something that looks illegal, report it through the platform and, where appropriate, to the police or a national hotline. You can also use the report guidance on this site.
For parents, none of these measures is aimed at stopping a child from reaching the site, so device and network controls remain essential.
Common myths about the verified-only model
Several misunderstandings circulate about December 2020. One is that every video on the site was deleted. Reports said unverified uploads were taken out of public view pending review, and that the library shrank from roughly 13 million to about 4 million, not that everything vanished. Another myth is that verification is the same as moderation. It is not. Verification is an identity step for uploaders, while moderation is the ongoing review of what is published and reported.
A third myth is that the changes made the platform risk-free. The company itself has not claimed that, and regulators have continued to examine its controls. A fourth is that the changes were purely voluntary. The timing, with card networks withdrawing within days, shows how much outside commercial pressure played a part.
Finally, some people assume that older policies still apply. Content rules have been updated since 2020, including after the 2023 ownership change, so read the current policy pages for the latest wording instead of relying on any summary, including this one.
If you remember one thing, make it this: the 2020 reset was a major change in who may publish, not a final answer to every safety question. Treat claims of either perfect safety or total failure with caution, and look for dated, sourced reporting instead.
Key takeaways
- December 2020 moved the platform from open uploads to verified-only uploads.
- Card networks stopped supporting payments in the same month.
- Verification confirms the uploader, not everyone shown in a video.
- Moderation combines software, staff, outside flaggers and public reports.
- A 2025 US settlement focused on consent and identity checks for people in content.
Frequently asked questions
This article is general information, not legal, financial or medical advice. Details about third-party services are based on public information and may change.