Pornhub and Policy: Examining the Erasure of Pornography Workers in Canadian Platform Governance

Abstract

Background: In 2021, the Canadian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI) conducted an inquiry around Pornhub, following allegations that parent company MindGeek profits from non-consensual content. Analysis: This article offers a discourse analysis of the ETHI’s process, testimony, and report on Pornhub using Carol Bacchi’s policy analysis method, “What is the problem represented to be?” Conclusions and implications: This study reveals a policy process blatantly influenced by anti-porn sentiments, resulting in hearings that framed porn as sexual violence rather than sex industry labour. It exposes how ETHI’s approach failed to constructively engage existing regulations, precarious labour conditions, or platform operations. The result is ineffective policy recommendations that procedurally exclude relevant stakeholders and do not adequately protect platform users from harm.