NEW YORK — Mastercard Inc. is “updating the requirements it sets for banks that process payments for sellers of adult content,” according to Bloomberg News.
A Mastercard blog post published today said the company will demand “clear, unambiguous and documented consent” in adult content.
“The firms will also be required to ensure websites document the age and verify the identity of anyone depicted in pictures and videos as well as those uploading the content,” Bloomberg News reported.
According to John Verdeschi, Mastercard’s senior VP of customer engagement and performance, “the banks that connect merchants to our network will need to certify that the seller of adult content has effective controls in place to monitor, block and, where necessary, take down all illegal content.”
Mastercard, the Bloomberg report continued, will also require that banks "ensure that sites have a review process prior to any content being published, as well as a system for complaints that addresses illegal or non-consensual activity within seven business days."
"The payments network is also mandating that banks make sure that sites have an appeals process that allows for anyone depicted in adult videos or photos to request that the content be removed," Bloomberg reported.
The move was hailed today as a victory on social media by vociferous anti-porn crusader Laila Mickelwait, mouthpiece of the Exodus Cry ministry, and her ally, Canadian MP Arnold Viersen (Conservative, Alberta), who are currently spearheading a series of hearings in Canada’s House of Commons with the goal to “dismantle Pornhub” and “abolish all pornography.”
To read Mastercard's full statement, click here.