Adult film production company BangBros announced on Thursday its acquisition of PornWikiLeaks.com, a website known for doxxing adult industry performers. Following the purchase, BangBros proceeded to shut down the site and destroy its data.

Acquisition and Data Destruction

BangBros, whose portfolio includes sites like Bang Bus and MILF Soup, confirmed the purchase of PornWikiLeaks.com. The acquired site was dedicated to doxxing adult industry performers, sharing personal details such as real names, family information, addresses, and phone numbers for over 15,000 individuals in the adult industry. The site also featured a forum with 300,000 posts, many described as negative and hate-filled.

Upon acquiring PornWikiLeaks, BangBros wiped the site. The content was replaced with a message on the homepage explaining the change. This message stated that BangBros purchased the site with the intention of shutting it down and removing all associated information. The company emphasized that there was no catch or hidden agenda to getting personal information off the site, stating, "We simply didn’t want it out there for the world to see anymore."

BangBros took possession of all PornWikiLeaks' hard drives, which contained sensitive and personal information. A video was released showing someone pouring flammable fluid onto a pile of hard drives and setting them on fire. The company confirmed that any content previously posted on PornWikiLeaks would be removed and deleted forever. The statement also assured users that the site would not return, as BangBros now owns the domain and nothing would ever be hosted there again except the current explanatory page.

The site's archive has also been excluded from The Wayback Machine, which removes content from its archive at the owner's request.

Context and Impact

PornWikiLeaks was cited in court documents for the Girls Do Porn case, which went to trial recently. In this trial, 22 women claimed that the production company Girls Do Porn misrepresented how their videos would be distributed, leading to their films being posted on popular websites and subsequent doxxing on PornWikiLeaks by viewers.

The acquisition and shutdown by BangBros aim to eliminate one platform where personal information of adult performers was harbored and easily accessible. While acknowledging that shutting down the site does not purge the internet of all possible ties to real names, BangBros stated it makes it "one less place to harbor and find these things easily."

Gene Ross, in a statement, confirmed that PornWikiLeaks was bought by BangBros and that they did destroy the data. Ross also mentioned that Adultfyi.com cannot contain PWL content. Ross indicated that a full statement about PWL would be released in a couple of weeks, but not immediately, due to an approaching hurricane in South Florida and the recent destruction of PornWikiLeaks. Ross invited PWL members to submit posts to Adultfyi.com and welcomed admins and mods to run the site, citing his own limited time to do so.

Industry Response

Adult Video Network reported that it confirmed the purchase with BangBros. Motherboard also independently confirmed the statement and purchase with a BangBros spokesperson. The action by BangBros has been noted as a significant event, demonstrating how parts of the internet can be immediately deleted, offering relief in cases where stolen data has been used to harass and endanger individuals.

Key Facts

  • BangBros purchased PornWikiLeaks.com.
  • PornWikiLeaks was a site dedicated to doxxing adult industry performers, containing personal details of over 15,000 individuals.
  • BangBros shut down PornWikiLeaks and destroyed its data, including hard drives, which was documented in a video.
  • The site's homepage was replaced with a statement from BangBros explaining the shutdown and data removal.
  • The PornWikiLeaks archive has been removed from The Wayback Machine.
  • Gene Ross confirmed the purchase and data destruction, stating a full statement would follow in a couple of weeks.