All the major social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram have live streaming options to keep users tuned in. In fact, Facebook even pays celebrities to go live. However, of late, live streaming sexual acts have also become common on porn sites. Recently, a Hyderabadi man was arrested for secretly live streaming sex with his wife. This went on for several months, until much later, a friend of the victim got to know about it and informed her. While in this case, the video was live streamed without the consent of one partner, many couples actually live stream their sex videos online to make quick money and also for pleasure.
All about the money
Porn websites have a ‘live sex’ option and there are almost 500 users online at any given time. Each of them have profile photos, the country they are from and usernames. People get memberships for $5-$10 and make money by streaming their videos. The money is paid by a token system. People can buy 500 tokens for almost $80, with which they tip people to perform certain sexual acts. People also have an option to request for a private show. According to reports, 2,000 Indian couples are actively uploading such videos online, making almost Rs 35,000 to Rs 60,000 a day.
Cyber crime inspector, Rachakonda, Riyazzudin, says, “While in many cases one partner is ignorant, in many other cases, both the partners are live streaming these videos. Couples are getting memberships on porn sites. Back then, videos were recorded and then uploaded. Now, it’s all about live streaming. However, sharing explicit sexual content of any kind is a criminal offence and the culprit will need to serve 6-7 years in jail. In the past month alone, almost 10-15 couples have recorded their acts with mutual consent. I request people to complain, if they get to know about such activities.”
An act of pleasure
Many couples also live stream sex videos for pleasure. Harpreet Kaur Khandhari, couple counselor, says, “I’ve handled many such cases in Hyderabad. Couples are also sharing videos on YouTube and WhatsApp. This one couple was doing it on FaceTime just to get a kick, and their kids got to know about it. I had to counsel the couple for eight months for them to stop doing it. People are going to any extent for sexual pleasure. If you’re married for 10-15 years, your sex life may get boring and this has become a means to show that you’re sexually attractive.” In yet another case, Harpreet says that the wife initially didn’t know that she was being recorded. When she did come to know and confronted her husband, he said that he’d leave her if she didn’t cooperate.
Cyberabad cyber crime ACP Jayram, who investigated the case in Hyderabad, says, “The man who was arrested was fond of watching porn videos. He had a membership on male escort websites and was chatting with several women for pleasure. If a woman liked his live stream, she would contact him personally. He was making money that way.”
