Poll: Will Google Make Porn Harder to Find?

LOS ANGELES — Google won't uphold its commitment to "freedom of expression" when it comes to porn related organic search results, according to a new poll conducted by adult industry news media organization XBIZ.

By a wide margin, 67 percent to 33 percent, members of adult industry social network XBIZ.net believe Google will further filter its search results following a recent policy change by the search giant to ban advertising of adult-oriented websites through its AdWords platform.

XBIZ asked: "Will Google uphold its commitment to 'freedom of expression' when it comes to organic adult search results?"

In June, Google said it would no longer accept ads for its AdWords unit "that promote graphic depictions of sexual acts including, but not limited to, hardcore pornography; graphic sexual acts including sex acts such as masturbation; genital, anal and oral sexual activity."

The decision to ban "adult" advertising sparked ire with stakeholders in the adult entertainment industry, including some of the businesses' top figureheads condemning the move.

Alec Helmy, president and publisher of XBIZ, wrote an open letter to Google urging the search giant to reconsider its position. So did online men’s magazine BaDoink.com's CEO, Todd Glider.

But, so far, the Google AdWords policy has been put in place and anti-porn crusader coalition Morality In Media has taken credit for the search giant’s decision.

For Google, the elimination of adult entertainment advertising on its AdWords platform means a shrinkage of at least $350 million a year, one industry expert said.

Scott Rabinowitz of SEO consulting company CyberStampede.com notes that the adult entertainment industry has provided at least one percent of AdWords revenue annually. Google makes an estimated $100 million a day in search advertising, he said.

"One of the accounts I work with has literally spent over $1 million in the last 10 years," Rabinowitz recently told TheDailyBeast.com. "They've had their account since the day AdWords opened before Google was a publicly traded company and literally were shut down abruptly without the ability to respond.”

As for organic searches, Google has never censored them; however the latest policymaking decision by Google's AdWords unit has many concerned in the adult entertainment industry about even further detrimental restrictions.

Q Boyer, a regular contributor to XBIZ magazine, said in a recent column, that Google could already be filtering organic searches for sexually explicit terms.

"While there’s no shortage of adult sites indexed by Google, one can’t help but notice that certain stand-alone search terms that once yielded a massive number of adult site links in their SERPs now only return links to adult content if the user appends a modifier like 'porn' or 'sex' to the search," he wrote. "A perfect example is 'BDSM'; in the old days, that search term would return a flood of sites that featured BDSM-related pictures and videos, but now the top responses are the Wikipedia page devoted to BDSM, an entry from the Urban Dictionary, and a host of other non-pornographic options."

The XBIZ survey involved votes casted from 203 unique industry members.

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Dirty Cinema Launches New Paysite 'MILFuckd'

Dirty Cinema has launched a new paysite, MILFuckd.com, on its network.

Braindance Unveils '6DOF' VR Tech

Interactive virtual reality platform Braindance has debuted its new Six Degrees of Freedom (6DOF) VR technology.

Kiiroo, Pineapple Support Launch 'Empower Hour' Series on FeelHubX YouTube Channel

Kiiroo and Pineapple Support have teamed up to launch the “Empower Hour” series on the FeelHubX YouTube channel.

Kansas Law Firm Deploys Religion, Bunk Science While Recruiting Plaintiffs Under AV Law

Kansas-based personal injury law firm Mann Wyatt Tanksley is promoting debunked scientific theories and leveraging religious affiliation against the industry while it seeks potential plaintiffs for lawsuits against adult companies under the state’s age verification law.

UK Tech Secretary Lists Age Verification Among OSA Priorities

Peter Kyle, the U.K.’s Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, on Wednesday made public a draft version of his priorities for implementing the Online Safety Act (OSA), including age verification.

AEBN Publishes Popular Seraches by Country for September, October

AEBN has released its list of popular searches from its straight and gay theaters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Avery Jane Featured on 'Adult Time Podcast'

Avery Jane is the latest guest on the “Adult Time Podcast,” hosted by studio CCO Bree Mills.

FSC: Kansas Law Firm Threatens Adult Site Over Age Verification

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has been notified that Kansas law firm Mann Wyatt Tanksley has sent a letter threatening an adult website with a lawsuit for breaking the state's age verification law.

10th Circuit Rejects Final FSC Appeal in Utah AV Case

The United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit on Monday rejected a motion by Free Speech Coalition (FSC) requesting that the full court rehear its appeal in Free Speech Coalition v. Anderson, the industry trade association’s challenge to Utah’s age verification law.

Trump Nominates Project 2025 Contributor, Section 230 Foe to Chair FCC

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated, as his pick to head the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr — an author of Project 2025 who has called for gutting Section 230 protections.

Show More