The Anti-trafficking group National Center On Sexual Exploitation is celebrating the shutdown of XTube and warned Pornhub will be next.
The Christian Post said that XTube and Pornhub are both owned by Canada-based MindGeek along with MyDirtyHobby and 160 other hardcore porn sites. MindGeek announced that they will be closing down XTube and have already disabled content to be uploaded to or downloaded from its site by members who pay for access to it.
"As of July 5th, content uploads will be disabled due to XTube closing. Downloads have been disabled, hence you will not be able to download any of your user-generated content," XTube said.
"As of September 5th, all user-generated content will be removed due to Xtube closing," they added.
As per the Christian Post, XTube's announcement did not give any reason for its sudden closure, especially since it has "a vibrant community" of 20 million worldwide subscribers that they are "proud of", being "built since 2008."
XTube's impending closure was eagerly accepted by the National Center On Sexual Exploitation through a statement released on it. NCOSE CEO Dawn Hawkins claimed in the statement of their organization's victory from efforts to shutdown the porn site after advocating it and sites like it as a platform used for sex trafficking, pedophilia, and rape.
"XTube's announced shutdown is more evidence that MindGeek's exploitation empire is crumbling. XTube's closure is a clear victory for the movement to hold Pornhub, MindGeek, and the pornography industry accountable for their facilitation of sexual abuse and exploitation," Hawkins said.
"XTube's decision to close was not made in a vacuum (but) after mounting pressure from legislators, outrage in the media, loss of mainstream corporate support, and survivors stepping forward to demand justice through lawsuits," she stressed.
The Christian Post pointed out that MindGeek has been receiving several lawsuits including that from 40 women who previously worked at Girls Do Porn--partly owned by MindGeek--which was closed by the Department of Justice, and from two child abuse survivors.
These lawsuits actually echo the criticism the porn site received for making money for actual footages on violence committed by rapists and pedophiles on their victims. These also prompted 700 sex abuse survivors to raise the need for a Congressional investigation on MindGeek.
According to NCOSE, the Canadian Parliament has already started an investigation on MindGeek for refusing to remove actual footages of sexual violence in their porn sites. NCOSE is really anticipating that MindGeek's "pillars" will be dismantled soon, especially with suppliers and partners such as major credit cards and Comcast cutting ties with it.
NCOSE, which annually releases a list of "dirty" sites, highlighted in its website that the "mounting pressure" has forced MindGeek to "remove 11,000,000 unverified videos" from its sites, as well as, "sell the company as quick as possible."
"We hope that XTube's closing is a harbinger of things to come for MindGeek," Hawkins stated. "We look forward to the day we can announce that Pornhub and additional MindGeek-owned pornography sites are ending."
