I’m Maggie MacDonald - a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information researching pornography platforms. My dissertation examines the platformization of cultural production through the case of Pornhub. Drawing from porn studies, platform studies, political economy, policy analysis & digital methods, I document changing dynamics around technology, labour and governance in the porn industry.

You can find my latest work in The Globe and Mail, AoIR’s Selected Papers of Internet Research, The Canadian Journal of Communication, New Media & Society, First Monday and The Walrus. I currently sit on the Advisory Board to Pornhub.

I’m a 2024 Massey Junior Fellow and 2023 Connaught PhD for Public Impact, with doctoral work supported through Canada’s Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). I hold a graduate specialization in Sexual Diversity Studies and work with the largest pornography archive in Canada, the Bonham Sexual Representation Collection.

Finally, I’m supported by a strong local union with CUPE 3902 and am a proud member of the Free Speech Coalition working to protect sex workers and defend freedom of sexual expression online. Workers of the world, unite!