Sex Tech News: ACLU Calls Out MasterCard’s New Policy, XBIZ Exec Awards & ‘GirlsDoPorn’ Settlement
Plus Lovense's speed-detecting vibe feature makes us nostalgic for '90s Mark Wahlberg.
“Mastercard’s new policy regulating adult content sellers goes into effect today. This is bad news for many sex workers, whose safety and livelihoods depend on access to financial services and online platforms. The policy makes it harder for sex workers to do business online and makes sex workers more vulnerable, especially those who are trans women of color.
Here’s what to know about financial discrimination against sex workers, how we’re fighting back, and what Mastercard must do now – and in the longrun – to protect sex workers’ rights. (via ALaLa B Holston-Zannell/American Civil Liberties Union)
“Earlier this week, Singapore-based teledildonic developer Lovense released Speed Mode, a new feature for its Lovense Remote app. Users can enable Speed Mode from the app to trigger motion-sensing capabilities in their Lovense toys.
“Whether users are using their Lovense toys on a plane, a train, or walking down the street, Speed Mode instructs the device to vibrate more intensely when it detects acceleration, consistently when the user maintains the same pace, and with decreasing strength when the toy detects deceleration.” (via Keats Iwanaga/Future of Sex)
Will using the feature be as good as watching that roller coaster scene in 1996's Fear? Here's to hoping! (Watch the full scene on YouTube via MovieClips)
“XBIZ is pleased to announce that the pre-nomination period for the 2022 XBIZ Exec Awards has begun. The last day for entries is Wednesday, October 27.
“The 10th annual XBIZ Exec Awards honor the best of the best from the adult business community for their outstanding creativity and leadership, celebrating exceptional career achievement across a wide variety of prominent industry roles. Symbolizing the pinnacle of one's profession, the XBIZ Exec Awards trophy is the most prestigious career honor in the adult industry.
“The Retail edition of the XBIZ Exec Awards will be hosted on Tuesday, January 11, while the Online Industry edition will be on Wednesday, January 12.
“Returning as part of the XBIZ Honors ceremony, which will also present select categories from the 2022 XBIZ Awards, the XBIZ Exec Awards will honor excellence in the following categories:
- Account Executive of the Year
- Business Development Executive of the Year
- Brand Ambassador of the Year
- Community Figure of the Year
- Marketing Executive of the Year
- Progressive Leadership Award
- Senior Leadership Award
- Chief Executive of the Year
- Businesswoman of the Year
- Businessman of the Year”
To submit pre-noms, register and/or login to your free industry member account at XBIZ.net.
“A settlement has been reached in the lawsuit filed on behalf of 50 women who sued Pornhub's parent company for hosting videos produced by former San Diego-based website GirlsDoPorn.com, the owners and operators of which were charged by federal prosecutors with sex trafficking.
“Terms of the settlement were not disclosed in a brief court document filed Friday indicating a stipulated dismissal of the case brought by the plaintiffs, identified as Jane Does 1 through 50.
The women alleged that Montreal-based MindGeek owns and operates a multitude of pornographic sites that have hosted videos featuring the women, and maintained its business relationship with GirlsDoPorn even as the site came under scrutiny for allegations of videos made through coercion and fraud.” (via NBC San Diego)
