CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND (April 7, 2021) – As part of the Dismantle Pornhub Campaign, the International Centre on Sexual Exploitation (ICOSE) and a coalition of 104 survivors and advocates from 13 countries, have sent letters to the CEOs of Wish and Diesel to call both companies out for enabling and profiting from child sexual abuse material, sex trafficking and non-consensual videos on Pornhub and other MindGeek-owned websites as prominent advertisers on the hardcore pornography websites.
Wish and Diesel remain two of the only major corporate entities continuing to support the infrastructure of MindGeek-owned Pornhub. (For proof, see page 6 of the TraffickJunky Media Kit. TraffickJunky is owned by MindGeek.)
“Pornhub has been exposed for distributing child sexual abuse material, videos of rape and assault, filmed sex trafficking, and non-consensually recorded and/or non-consensually uploaded intimate material. Companies like Wish and Diesel enable this material to thrive on Pornhub by continuing to advertise on the site,” said Haley McNamara, director of the International Centre on Sexual Exploitation.
In an investigative hearing before the Canadian government, MindGeek’s co-owner and CEO Feras Antoon told members that 50% of their revenue comes from advertising. Kraft Heinz and Unilever have stopped advertising on Pornhub.
“We urgently call on Wish and Diesel to stop supporting sexual exploitation by advertising on Pornhub and other MindGeek entities. True corporate responsibility demands nothing less,” McNamara added.
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 hosting Pornhub and other pornography channels given that its competitors AppleTV and Amazon FireTV already refuse such a partnership. Visa has been called on to cut ties with all MindGeek-owned entities by ceasing to process payments for pornography websites like RealityKings and Brazzers.
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.
On April 8, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, will hold an online briefing for U.S. congressional staff that will present evidence of Pornhub’s abuse.
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.
