WASHINGTON, DC (November 14, 2023) – Following a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into Pornhub/Aylo for facilitating sex trafficking in the GirlsDoPorn case, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) said that the DOJ needs to investigate Pornhub and prosecute other crimes related to the online pornography exploiter.
It was reported that the Department of Justice accepted Aylo’s Deferred Prosecution Agreement that requires monetary restitution to victims and a list of future moderation requirements.
“Given its long track record of enabling sexual abuse and exploitation, it is doubtful that Aylo will be able to comply with the promises it’s making to the U.S. government in terms of moderation requirements. The GirlsDoPorn case is one of many other cases of sexual abuse on Pornhub. In fact, there are three other lawsuits against Pornhub/Aylo involving child sexual abuse that was on Pornhub – the Department of Justice should investigate these cases as well,” said Haley McNamara, Vice President of Strategy and Communications, National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“As has been revealed in undercover videos, Pornhub/Aylo has allowed videos to depict people without identifying every person and getting their consent, such as videos where faces are not visible. Further, Pornhub/Aylo has a long history of claiming to use state-of-the-art technology and human moderation tactics, but an ex-employee has spoken out saying that as recently as August 2023 the company still used lackluster criteria like whether people in videos were wearing makeup as a key indication for if they were an adult or child. In fact, Pornhub/Aylo has a history of verifying accounts of sex traffickers themselves who go on to post child sexual abuse material – clearly Pornhub’s ability to meaningfully verify age, consent, and identity has failed historically, again and again.
“We call on the DOJ to ensure strict enforcement of the promises Aylo is making, and urge the DOJ to open additional investigations,” McNamara added.
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation Law Center filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of a child sex trafficking survivor against Pornhub. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation is also co-counsel in a lawsuit against Pornhub and XHamster filed on behalf of 9 women who were secretly filmed while changing in a college locker room for a field hockey game, and the footage of which was then uploaded to Pornhub and XHamster.
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.
