Pornhub Parent Company to Pay $1.8 Million in Sex Trafficking Case

Pornhub’s parent company, Aylo, has agreed to pay $1.8 million to the US government to resolve allegations of profiting from sex trafficking. The charges stem from hosting content and accepting payments from a third-party, Girls Do Porn (GDP). Aylo admitted that it deeply regrets hosting the content and continued to accept money from the GDP channel even after being aware of sex trafficking allegations involving some of the women appearing in the videos.

In 2021, Aylo settled with 50 women out of court and owns other popular sites such as Youporn, Brazzers, and Redtube. The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York stated that Aylo received money that it knew or should have known was derived from the GDP Operators’ sex trafficking operations. The investigation revealed that there were over 400 victims in total, and in 2021, GDP producer Ruben Andre Garcia was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for coercing women into appearing in sex videos.

The women involved in the case won the rights to the videos they appeared in and Garcia was ordered to pay $18 million to them in restitution. The recent settlement with Aylo is known as a deferred prosecution agreement, which means that the company has agreed to be prosecuted if it breaks the terms of the deal within the next three years. The agreement allows authorities to monitor Aylo’s moderation policy, content screening, and the amount of resources it puts into filtering out illegal videos from its sites.

United States Attorney Breon Peace stated that the agreement holds the parent company of Pornhub accountable for its role in hosting videos and accepting payments from criminal actors who coerced young women into engaging in sexual acts on videos posted without their consent. Peace expressed hope that this resolution brings some measure of closure to those negatively affected by the situation.

In a statement, Aylo clarified that while GDP provided signed consent forms from the women in the videos, Aylo did not know that these consents were obtained under coercion. Aylo also stated that it is not pleading guilty to any crime and that the government has agreed to dismiss the charge against the company after three years, subject to Aylo’s continued compliance with the Deferred Prosecution Agreement.

The settlement highlights the importance of addressing sex trafficking, money laundering, and pornography on the internet. It also emphasizes the need for platforms like Pornhub to implement stronger moderation policies and content screening measures to prevent the exploitation of individuals and protect the rights of those involved in such cases.