Pornhub’s Parent Company Settles With Feds Over CSAM Complaint
This article is part one of a two-part review of the FTC’s judgement against Pornhub’s parent company for profiting off child abuse.
Pornhub’s parent company, Aylo, will pay $15 million to settle a federal complaint alleging it facilitated the online spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and non-consensual material (NCM) for more than a decade.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state of Utah filed a joint complaint against the pornography company on September 3 for engaging in deceptive and unfair business practices. The filing suggests Aylo spent years lying about the prevention, detection and removal of CSAM and NCM from its websites.
Between 2018 and 2022, the FTC claims Aylo spread six major falsehoods:
- That its sites do not contain CSAM and NCM.
- That it reviews every piece of content before consumers can view them.
- That it reviews every piece of content users report as inappropriate “as soon as the company is made aware of [the complaint].”
- That it bans users that upload CSAM and NCM.
- That it prevents CSAM and NCM that has been deleted from being uploaded again.
- That it knows the name and age of every individual in every piece of content on its subscription-based sites.
The Daily Citizen will explore each of these alleged lies in more detail in Part 2.
“Aylo’s business model was simple: more content, more money,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson wrote in a statement explaining the complaint.
“Aylo profited from the distribution of CSAM and NCM for many years by deceiving consumers ‘both in the press an on their websites’ to convince them that its business practices were all above board.”
The years-long con allowed Aylo to hide abusive content in plain sight — and continue to profit from it.
Aylo settled with the FTC and Utah on September 8, agreeing to fork over $15 million in fines. While not an admission of guilt, it is an expensive bid to avoid contesting the complaint under oath.
The porn giant cannot truthfully contest many of the facts included in the filing. Several of its lies emerged in full view of the public. In December 2020, for instance, the New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof wrote an exposé claiming Pornhub was rife with CSAM, NCM and other objectionable content.
Ten days later, Aylo removed 10.5 million videos from PornHub for “failing to meet the company’s guidelines.”
Aylo’s settlement agreement requires more than a mere fine. The company must also:
- Suspend all licensed photos and videos containing individuals Aylo cannot identify.
- Suspend all “Content Partners”— porn producers Aylo sources content from — that cannot identify individuals featured in their content.
- Create a “CSAM and NCM Prevention Program” facilitating the prompt reporting and removal of CSAM and NCM.
- Remove all content featuring a person who no longer wishes to appear on Aylo’s platforms.
- Ban all users that post comments or direct messages “encouraging or soliciting CSAM or NCM or encouraging or engaging in child abuse or non-consensual sexual activities.”
Perhaps most importantly, Aylo must “clearly and conspicuously” post a notice on all its websites disclosing the FTC’s allegations. Ferguson writes:
The Daily Citizen heartily agrees.
Aylo’s settlement with the FTC and Utah is one of several critical steps legislators and regulators have taken this year to fight back against extreme digital pornography, including passing age-verification legislation and laws like the Take It Down Act.
This important progress is driven by our growing understanding of the ways digital pornography shapes our brains and sexual behaviors and what motivates companies like Aylo and Roblox to profit off CSAM, pedophilia and other abusive content.
To that end, the Daily Citizen dives further into Aylo’s perfidy in part two.
Additional Articles and Resources
Porn Companies Condition Viewers to Desire Illegal and Abusive Content
President Donald Trump, First Lady Sign ‘Take It Down’ Act
Louisiana Sues Roblox for Exposing Children to Predators, Explicit Content
UPDATED: Pornography Age Verification Laws — What They Are and Which States Have Them
Pornhub Quits Texas Over Age Verification Law
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