Roku has quietly introduced a tech policy change that will result in the expulsion of Pornhub channels and other adult/sex-themed outlets from its platform.
Roku is essentially doing away with so-called "private channels," which had been used by developers to test their Roku channels before taking them live. These channels don't exist within the Roku Channel Store. But they can be found and activated by Roku users with a code or direct link via Roku's website.
Purveyors of porn content, including the popular Pornhub, have been using private channels--aka "uncertified channels"--to create their own channels on the top connected TV device platform.
On March 1, 2022, the private channels will disappear from Roku's platform, replaced by a new tool for developers called "beta channels," which will allow the software makers to test out their wares with groups of 20 users or less. (The new Independent Developers Kit was introduced last week at Roku's annual developers conference and first reported on by Protocol.)
In a statement released Wednesday, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) called Roku’s policy change a “victory for survivors of sexual exploitation.
“Roku’s decision to remove Pornhub and other exploitative pornography channels from its platform is a move that we and other international anti-exploitation groups and survivors have been calling on the company to make for years. No company should profit from child sexual abuse, rape, sex trafficking and other exploitive content on its platform and we are glad Roku is finally shutting down its partnership with Pornhub and the entire exploitation industry,” said NCOSE CEO Dawn Hawkins.
