The Federal Trade Commission and Utah have ordered Pornhub to pay a $5 million fine for allegedly misleading users regarding its attempts to limit child sex abuse material (CSAM) and non-consensual material (NCM) on its platform, as announced by the FTC today.
The FTC and Utah asserted that Pornhub and its parent organization, Aylo (previously MindGeek), did not effectively eliminate illegal content from its service.
In December 2020, Pornhub banned downloads and unverified uploads after a New York Times op-ed highlighted CSAM and NCM on the platform. The complaint claims that Aylo did not perform audits of CSAM and NCM until that year, when credit card companies threatened to terminate services. Internal documents reviewed by the New York Times indicated that Pornhub only removed content flagged by users after receiving 16 flags and did not ban users uploading illegal content.
The FTC and Utah also allege that Aylo failed to safeguard models’ privacy and security. Currently, anyone featured in a video on Pornhub must be verified, necessitating personal information such as government IDs to be uploaded to a third-party vendor. The complaint argues that Aylo did not reveal that this personal information would be collected and stored by the vendor.
In addition to the penalty, the FTC and Utah mandate that Aylo establish a program to prevent the publication or distribution of CSAM and NCM content. Aylo is required to remove content uploaded prior to this program until the ages of performers are verified. Pornhub had previously deleted all unverified videos following the Times op-ed in December 2020. Moreover, Aylo must set up a system to verify individuals in videos and obtain their consent, a system that is already in place.
Aylo is required to post a notice on Pornhub informing users about the allegations in the complaint and to establish a thorough privacy and security program.
“Pornhub’s operators disregarded the increase of videos depicting child sexual abuse on its sites to profit from this exploitation,” said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s bureau of consumer protection. “Under today’s order, Pornhub’s operators must take definitive actions to block harmful content and ensure that those appearing in videos are consenting adults.”
According to 404 Media, the complaint against Pornhub primarily concerns content from before 2020. An Aylo spokesperson confirmed this in a statement to Mashable, saying that it has taken proactive steps to safeguard its users and prevent illegal content on Aylo sites, including mandatory verification and proof of consent.
“The resolution involved improvements to existing measures but did not introduce any new substantial requirements that were not already in place or underway. This settlement concludes the investigation and highlights Aylo’s dedication to rigorous safety protocols that should be broadly applied across all websites that publish user-generated content,” Aylo stated.
“Aylo advocates for strong enforcement against CSAM and NCM and urges the FTC and Utah DCP to expand their initiative to protect the public across the wider internet, promoting a safer online atmosphere for everyone. Throughout the investigation, Aylo collaborated fully to address the concerns raised by the FTC and Utah DCP.”
If you have experienced sexual abuse, call the free, confidential National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), or access help online 24/7 by visiting RAINN online.