Thirty women have filed a lawsuit against the company owning the popular pornographic website "Pornhub" for broadcasting explicit videos of them. The women claim in their lawsuit, filed in a civil court in California, that the recorded footage was aired on "Pornhub" without their consent. The California lawsuit accuses the company "MindGeek" of running a "criminal enterprise."
In response, the website issued a statement describing the accusations as "ridiculous, reckless, and false." Although "Pornhub" can be accessed for free, users must pay a monthly subscription fee for high-quality video streaming and to view additional content. Subscribers can download content from the site; however, the company stated that moderators review every video before it is uploaded for streaming.
Representatives of "Pornhub" told the BBC that the site "does not tolerate illegal content and investigates any complaint or claim related to the content" on the platform. They added that the site has "the most comprehensive guarantees in the history of user-generated platforms, which include a ban on uploads from unverified users."
However, CBS reported that "Pornhub" does not require users to verify the identity or age of participants in videos and does not seek to confirm the consent of the individuals appearing in the footage that is broadcast on the site. The law firm representing the women stated that the lawsuit is based on the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000.
One complainant, who used the pseudonym "Isabella," shared with CBS that she was forced by her boyfriend to film herself naked at the age of seventeen. Isabella reported that the video was later posted on "Pornhub" without her consent, and she discovered it through a friend.
"Pornhub" stated that it "takes every complaint regarding the misuse of its platform seriously, including those presented in this case." The website emphasized that it did not intend to let "exaggerated language in the complaint distract from the fact that Pornhub has security and safety policies that exceed those of any other major online platform."
An investigation by the "New York Times" last December accused "Pornhub" of being "littered" with videos related to child abuse and rape. The site denied these allegations. "Pornhub" announced that it received 42 billion visits to the site in 2019, with 6.83 million videos uploaded, resulting in a total viewing time of 169 years. The site did not disclose the number of moderators it employs.
