Pornhub and several affiliates settled out of court a lawsuit filed in the United States by 50 women, including three Canadians, who claimed the company had profited from pornographic videos posted without their full consent.
Brian Holm, counsel for the plaintiffs, confirmed the settlement, the terms of which are confidential, as is customary for such out-of-court settlements.
The lawsuit, filed last December in California District Court, alleged that MindGeek, the parent company of Pornhub, knew – or should have known – that one of its business partners routinely used fraud and coercion to expose women in videos.
The lawsuit originally involved 40 plaintiffs, but other women were subsequently added and new businesses linked to parent company MindGeek were also targeted.
Although MindGeek is legally headquartered in Luxembourg, its main office is located in Montreal.
In response to a request for comment, MindGeek said in an email Thursday that it does not tolerate any illegal content on its platforms.
Last December, an Ontarian filed a $ 600 million class action claim against MindGeek in Quebec Superior Court. The woman claims that Pornhub released a video of the sexual assault she suffered when she was around 12 years old.
This dispatch was written with financial support from the Facebook Stock Exchanges and The Canadian Press for News.
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