The Hungarian Sex Camera Industry

In our paper we analyse the emergence and functioning of the sex camera industry, focusing on the central role of platform companies and the labour of those working in the industry. Through the example of Hungary, based on interview research conducted with people working in the industry, we look at how the sex industry, and within that, the sex camera industry, has changed with digitalisation in the global economy, and how the platform companies that are at the centre of this transformation operate – among them, LiveJasmin, founded in Hungary. We look at how Hungary’s semi-peripheral position within the capitalist world system determines the working conditions and possibilities of local workers in the global industry. In our analysis, we therefore explore the global inequalities of platform capitalism and digital labour from the perspective of Hungarian, semi-peripheral actors. In addition, we show what role sex camera platforms such as LiveJasmin have played in the normalisation of the sex industry.