Survivors & Advocates in 11 Countries Urge Visa to Cut All Ties with Sex Trafficking Profiteer MindGeek
Cambridge, England (March 26, 2021) – As part of its new Dismantle Pornhub Campaign, the International Centre on Sexual Exploitation (ICOSE), along with 62 survivors and advocates representing eleven countries, have sent a letter to Visa to request that Visa cut ties with all MindGeek-owned entities. MindGeek is the owner of Pornhub, which has been exposed for hosting videos containing child sexual abuse material, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and non-consensual content.
Visa rightly paused processing payments for Pornhub in December 2020, after the abuses on the platform were brought to light by The New York Times. However, Visa continues to profit from MindGeek-owned entities by processing payments for them, including pornography websites like RealityKings and Brazzers.
The letter stated: “Visa can now have no excuse of ignorance that they are processing payments for one of the world’s most prolific sexual exploiters. Visa must stop continuing to support the infrastructure of MindGeek – a decision that not only legitimizes a racist, criminally violent, and degrading company, but also leaves their corporation open to liability as well.”
“Visa has been given the opportunity to meet with survivors of the pornography industry, who were ready to explain how MindGeek facilitates abuse and harm across all of its hundreds of pornographic websites—but Visa refuses to listen to survivors. If Visa does not cut ties with MindGeek as a whole, it chooses to be a co-profiteer from that sexual exploitation,” said Haley McNamara, Director of the International Centre on Sexual Exploitation.
In recent weeks, multiple lawsuits have been filed against MindGeek, including a class action lawsuit filed against MindGeek by NCOSE, and 70 members of the Canadian Parliament called for criminal investigations of the company.
The joint campaign, Dismantle Pornhub, has been launched by the International Centre on Sexual Exploitation (UK), Collective Shout (Australia), Defend Dignity (Canada), and #Traffickinghub (USA) to call out entities that support the infrastructure of Pornhub and MindGeek.
Each week a new corporation supporting Pornhub/MindGeek through advertising, distribution, consumer services, or technology support will be named and contacted by a coalition of international survivors and advocates. Roku has been called on to stop distributing filmed CSAM, sex trafficking, and rape by refusing to host a Pornhub and other pornography channels while its competitors AppleTV and Amazon FireTV already refuse such a partnership.
On April 8, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, will hold an online briefing for U.S. congressional staff that will present evidence of MindGeek-owned Pornhub’s abuse. More information can be found here: https://endsexualexploitation.org/pornhub.
About International Centre on Sexual Exploitation (ICOSE)
Utilizing cutting edge tactics for private and public policy advocacy and building on a decade of coalition-building experience, the International Centre on Sexual Exploitation (ICOSE) works to bolster the global abolitionist movement. ICOSE is a UK-based division of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE). Learn more at: https://endsexualexploitation.org/icose/
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-partisan organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography.
