Pornhub has extended its Premium service worldwide as more and more governments urge people to stay home if possible, to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The offer, which grants free access to ad-free, high-definition adult content, was previously extended to several European countries like Italy and France that have enforced nationwide lockdowns.
“It's important that we lend a hand and provide them with an enjoyable way to pass the time,” Pornhub Vice President Corey Price said in a statement.
He expressed hope that the move will give people an “extra incentive to stay home and flatten the curve” – a term referring to the reduction of new infection cases. Free Premium support will be available through 23 April.
According to Pornhub’s own stats, the number of global visitors to the site jumped by double digits as more and more people are required to stay home.
The number of people currently in lockdown worldwide surpassed 2 billion after India, the world’s second most populous nation, announced a lockdown on Tuesday. There have been over 425,000 confirmed coronavirus cases globally as of Wednesday, according to John Hopkins University. An estimated 109,000 people have recovered and 19,100 have died from the COVID-19 disease the virus causes.
Pornhub earlier donated 50,000 surgical masks to health workers in the New York City area and pledged to divert part of its proceeds to sex workers' relief funds and various European charities.
The platform, which is owned by the Canadian company MindGeek, also announced it would offer models who have been financially affected by the pandemic 100 percent of their video sales after a processing fee.
“When a global human crisis happens, it is up to everyone to work together to help support the community,” Price said.
“We have always been a global community, hosting over 130,000 models from every corner of the earth. We stand by our performers and models and we will continue working on other projects to assist the community during this challenging time.”