More and more minors are visiting porn sites, the content of which is sometimes very violent. Who is behind these platforms? How do they manage to rake in hundreds of millions of euros? And how to protect children? A “Cash Investigation” investigation to be seen Thursday September 28 at 9:10 p.m. on France 2.
The observation is worrying. More than half of boys aged 12-13 and a third of girls in the same age group visit porn sites every month. In just a few clicks, they can access it via a mobile phone or their computer. Among the most watched: Pornhub, Xvideos. These porn platforms together receive more than 5 billion visits per month and are now among the top 20 most visited websites in the world.
In this issue, Elise Lucet and the “Cash Investigation” team investigated those behind these sites. On the Pornhub side, there is the Canadian multinational MindGeek and, on the XVideos side, the Web Group company, headed by a mysterious Frenchman, Stéphane Pacaud.
Brutal and degrading scenes
The porn industry has been completely disrupted by these free platforms. Amateur videos and advertising are the heart of their business model. And to convince advertisers to buy advertising space, we always need more videos to offer to visitors, sometimes even if it means obtaining them without the consent of the people filmed.
For a year, journalist Marie Maurice sifted through thousands of pieces of content. It shows that the titles of videos posted on free sites are increasingly violent. She also identified amateur videos of sexual assault on certain sites.
During our investigation, we also discovered that certain paid platforms would go so far as to order videos from studios, which depict sexual relations in a family setting. Porn actresses say they shoot increasingly brutal and degrading scenes.
How to enforce the law?
To dismantle the mechanics of these behemoths, former employees agreed to tell the inside story of how these platforms work. Their fear is that the content promoted by these sites will distort the sexuality of an entire population. Because this is the risk when minors access it at younger and younger ages. In recent years, their consumption of porn has exploded. However, in France, a 2020 law prohibits minors from accessing porn sites. But the giants of the sector are doing everything they can to ensure that this law is not applied in the country.
> THE GREAT DEBATE
On set, Elise Lucet is interested in this “porn generation”, the one who grew up with unlimited access to virtual sex, sometimes at the risk of getting lost in it. It collects the testimony of a young adult long disturbed by an early and brutal learning of sexuality via screens. She receives the president of the High Council for Equality between Women and Men, and also hears those who intervene in schools. All denounce a real public health problem. An actress testifies to the drift of an increasingly trashy industry.
> THE GUESTS
– Jean-Noël BarrotMinister Delegate responsible for the Digital Transition.
– Sylvie Pierre-BrossolettePresident of the High Council for Equality between Women and Men.
– Nikita Bellucciformer actress and now producer of porn films.
-Thomas Rohmerdirector of the Observatory of Parenthood and Digital Education.
Cash Investigation: revelations, a debate, solutions.
“Porno, a merciless business”, an investigation by “Cash Investigation” to be seen Thursday September 28 at 9:10 p.m. on France 2.
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