Pornhub has removed nearly 80% of its content – more than 10 million videos – in response to allegations that the adult website showed videos of rape and underage sex.

Earlier this month, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote that Pornhub hosted videos featuring children, rape, revenge pornography, and other nonconsenting subjects. 

Following that report, Mastercard and Visa announced they were blocking their customers from using the credit cards to make purchases on Pornhub. Mastercard said its own investigation confirmed violations of standards prohibiting unlawful conduct on the site. Visa took similar action while its investigation was still in progress.

Even before the credit card companies’ announcement, Pornhub said it was halting unverified users from uploading new video material. As part of that new policy, the company said it also was suspending videos that were previously uploaded by unverified users. 

Before the website began to remove videos Sunday, its search bar touted that it featured 13.5 million videos, according to Vice. As of Tuesday, there were 2.9 million, a reduction of 10.6 million videos, or 78.5% of its library.

Suspended videos display a message saying they have been flagged for verification “in accordance with our trust and safety policy,” Vice reported.

“At Pornhub, the safety of our community is our top priority,” the company said. “Last week, we enacted the most comprehensive safeguards in user-generated platform history. We banned unverified uploaders from posting new content, eliminated downloads, and partnered with dozens of non-profit organizations, among other major policy changes.

“As part of our policy to ban unverified uploaders, we have now also suspended all previously uploaded content that was not created by content partners or members of the Model Program. This means every piece of Pornhub content is from verified uploaders, a requirement that platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and Twitter have yet to institute.”

Pornhub, which says it had 42 billion visits in 2019, told CNN Business last week that any assertion it allows child sex abuse material (CSAM) on its site is “irresponsible and flagrantly untrue.”

"Due to the nature of our industry, people's preconceived notions of Pornhub's values and processes often differ from reality — but it is counterproductive to ignore the facts regarding a subject as serious as CSAM," Pornhub said.

"We have zero tolerance for CSAM. Pornhub is unequivocally committed to combating CSAM, and has instituted an industry-leading trust and safety policy to identify and eradicate illegal material from our community."

Pornhub said it has hired a law firm to conduct an independent review of its content, has moderators that examine each video that is posted to the site and works with 40 organizations with a focus on child safety to monitor what it posts.

The company said that “every online platform has the moral responsibility” to join in the fight against depictions of child sexual abuse or non-consensual activity.