The Federal Trade Commission and Utah have ordered Pornhub’s parent company to pay a $5 million penalty for hosting nonconsensual and child sexual abuse content.
A stipulated order for permanent injunction was filed last week, demanding Aylo (formerly MindGeek) remove child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and proven nonconsensual content from its sites, implement comprehensive prevention policies to be periodically reviewed by a third party, and bolster privacy and security measures.
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The order also includes an additional $10 million payment to the Utah Division of Consumer Protection. That amount, though, will be suspended if the defendants comply with the mandates of the FTC’s order.
“Pornhub’s operators turned a blind eye to the proliferation of videos depicting the sexual abuse of children on its sites so it could profit off this exploitation,” Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. “Under the order we’re announcing today, Pornhub’s operators will be required to take concrete steps to block this harmful content and ensure that those who appear in videos on their sites are consenting adults.”
Several groups have praised the FTC’s order, including the anti-trafficking organization Exodus Cry and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“This settlement mandates massive reforms and we’re here for it,” Exodus Cry stated in part.
NCOSE called the FTC ruling “a victory for all of us.”
“This FTC action represents more than just accountability for one company,” NCOSE stated. “It sends a powerful message to the entire pornography industry that exploitation will not be tolerated, and it validates the experiences of every survivor who has been told their story doesn’t matter.”
It continued, “Most importantly, this victory proves that when we stand together, we can take on billion-dollar industries that profit from exploitation, and win.”
For years, concern has been growing about sites like Pornhub. The pornography platform has blocked access in the 17 states that have passed laws requiring age-verification systems. Pornhub has argued such requirements violate potential users’ right to privacy.
The states that have age-verification laws are Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.
Over the summer, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Texas’ age-verification law, deciding it is “within a state’s authority to prevent children from accessing sexually explicit content” and “does not directly regulate the protected speech of adults.”
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