The FTC claims Pornhub’s parent company Aylo turned a blind eye and profited from underage porn. But a 2021 Supreme Court ruling prevents the agency from imposing significant fines.
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The US Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on Pornhub and its sister properties for allegedly ignoring the underage and non-consensual pornography circulating on the websites.
However, Pornhub’s parent company, Aylo, is only being fined $5 million, a paltry sum the FTC blames on a 2021 Supreme Court ruling that prevents it from demanding a bigger sum and compensating victims.
“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.
Aylo claims the “FTC’s complaints all stem from 2020 or earlier,” and says it has since instituted major reforms to stop child sexual abuse material (CSAM) from appearing on its sites, which also include RedTube and YouPorn. This came after major credit card companies, including Visa and Mastercard, stopped processing payments for Pornhub, citing the illegal content.
The credit card ban appears to remain in place to this day. In 2023, Pornhub’s parent MindGeek changed its name to Aylo to seek a “fresh start” while focusing on trust and safety. But despite the overhaul, the FTC is demanding that Pornhub be held accountable for allegedly “profiting” from the underage and non-consensual pornography.
The US regulator charged Aylo with engaging in deceptive practices by claiming it had a zero tolerance for CSAM when it allegedly did little to stop the videos from circulating.
