MILAN, Italy — Calling it the “next sexual revolution,” two socially-minded Italians have created a porn site designed to funnel money to charitable organizations.
Although similar to other crowd funding start-ups (this one on Ulule), non-profit Come4.org considers itself “ethically inspired” that plans to link its porn content to social causes.
According to founders Marco Annoni (a philosophy reasercher) and Riccardo Zilli (CEO of Fliz) money received from adult professionals that advertise on the site will then be channeled to social causes in a completely transparent manner.
The way it works is that users set up personal counts where they can watch or post sex videos that are automatically linked to certain causes or charities. Each time the clip is viewed, the money supplied by the creators of the videos is then earmarked for the cause.
Come4’s philosophy is based on a “positive, secular, liberal and pluralistic ideal of human sexuality,” according to its project page.
"We are aware that around the world, many people suffer because they lack the resources necessary for food, water, medicine, and housing. At the same time, we have noted the exponential growth of online pornography," the co-founders said in their introductory hip, yet humanistic pitch video. "Hence, we devised Come4, our way to rethink pornography with ethics and to launch a new sexual revolution in the Internet era."
But they stress that any "any inappropriate content involving violence or physical harm will be immediately removed and reported." The site also has a FAQ page that answers questions about porn values and its controversial stance using a so-called vice to raise cash, along with what kind of organizations will sign on.
The website’s first cause is U.K.-based Asta Philpot Foundation, that Annoni and Zilli said is dedicated to enhancing "public awareness of the sexual rights of people with disabilities."
A BBC documentary was produced about Philpot who was born with a congenital disorder called Arthrogryposis that can affect limb development and the ability to move. The movie traced Philpot and two other disabled men as they satisfied their sexual needs in a legal Spanish brothel.
The website is seeking about $12,000 to build their site, and so far has collected $4,800. Supporters are being offered gifts including buttons, stickers and branded condoms. The creators want to tap into what they estimate is a $100 billion porn industry.
"Just imagine, if we collected just 1 percent of the money made by the porn industry, how many great things could we finance with a billion? What would you do with this money?," the website asked.
But the co-founders also take a jab at the porn biz they're courting.
"Today the porn industry has an unchallenged power to decide which content should be available online. As a result, instead of reflecting the natural plurality of human sexuality, today online pornography fosters a one-dimensional perspective that is often fake, violent, macho-centered, and in many cases barely legal."
"We believe we can do better than this and that the time has come to rethink critically the relationship of online pornography and society."
