The Montreal company that owns the Pornhub site will pay $1.85 million to American authorities to avoid prosecution criminal in connection with the hosting of pornographic videos broadcast without the consent of the women who appear in them.
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Alyo, formerly Mindgeek, reached an agreement with the American justice system on Thursday following an FBI criminal investigation into its illegal practices.
This agreement “holds her responsible for hosting videos broadcast without the consent of young women forced to engage in sexual acts”, explained in a press release the American prosecutor responsible for the case, Breon Peace
According to court evidence, Alyo Holdings received money from and hosted videos from the pornographic video company GirlsDoPorn until 2019.
However, at that time, she must have known that some of the women who appeared in the videos had been deceived and that the videos had been broadcast without their consent on the Pornhub platform.
The agreement highlights that some women even asked for them to be removed as early as 2016, which was not always done.
Sexual exploitation
“Motivated by profit, Aylo Holdings knowingly enriched itself by turning a blind eye to the concerns of victims who informed it that they had been deceived and coerced into participating in illegal sexual activities,” said James Smith, deputy director of the FBI, said in the press release.
“Make no mistake, any entity that engages in sexual exploitation will be held responsible for the anguish and terror imposed on victims,” he added.
To avoid further legal proceedings, Aylo agreed to pay 1.85 million to the American authorities and agreed to compensate the victims.
It will be subject to the supervision of an independent controller for three years. American prosecutors want to ensure that the terms of the agreement are respected.