Mastercard and Visa investigate Pornhub ties over child abuse allegations

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The world’s largest credit card networks said they could cut ties with Pornhub and its Canadian parent company MindGeek over the issue.

 

Mastercard and Visa are investigating their business relationship with Pornhub after allegations that the popular porn site is hosting child sexual abuse content. The world’s largest credit card networks said they could cut ties with Pornhub and its Canadian parent company MindGeek over the issue.

 

Pornhub denies it has child abuse videos on its site. “Any assertion that we allow CSAM (child sexual abuse material) is irresponsible and flagrantly untrue,” it said in a statement emailed to Reuters. The allegations come from New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, whose 3,700-word column on Friday noted that videos on Pornhub contained unconscious women and girls who were being assaulted, including underage sex, rape and revenge porn videos. The report cites a number of first-hand accounts from victims who have appeared in such videos. Many said they were left traumatized and suicidal from the ordeal, according to the NYT.

 

"The issue is not pornography but rape. Let's agree that promoting assaults on children or on anyone without consent is unconscionable," the column reads. Kristof wrote that Pornhub doesn’t filter its content, which includes material that might contain violence or any form of assault. He also called out banks and credit card companies that work with Pornhub. "...I don’t see why search engines, banks or credit card companies should bolster a company that monetizes sexual assaults on children or unconscious women. If PayPal can suspend cooperation with Pornhub, so can American Express, Mastercard and Visa," Kristof noted in the column.

 

 

In the summer, Pornhub faced allegations of having sex trafficking videos. There was even a petition to shut down the site. “We are investigating the allegations raised in the New York Times and are working with MindGeek’s bank to understand this situation, in addition to the other steps they have already taken. If the claims are substantiated, we will take immediate action,” Mastercard told CNN Business in a statement. “When we identify illegal activity, our policy is to ask the acquirer to terminate the relationship, unless an effective compliance plan is put in place.” Pornhub denied such videos exist on the site and noted that a team reviews every video.

 

Mastercard and Visa have been advised by billionaire investor Bill Ackman to withhold payments to the site. 

 

Along with Pornhub, Montreal-based MindGeek also owns and operates several other popular pornography sites.

 

SOURCES:

https://www.ibtimes.com/mastercard-reconsiders-pornhub-ties-amid-child-abuse-nonconsensual-violence-video-3095811

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/mastercard-visa-investigate-pornhub-ties-child-abuse-allegations-rcna190