The Montreal company that owns the Pornhub site will pay $1.85 million to American authorities to avoid prosecution punishable in connection with hosting pornographic videos that were broadcast without the consent of the women appearing in them.
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Alyo, formerly Mindgeek, reached a settlement with American justice on Thursday after the FBI launched a criminal investigation into his illegal practices.
That agreement “holds them responsible for hosting videos broadcast without consent of young women being forced to engage in sexual acts,” Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney in charge of the case, said in a press release
According to court evidence, Alyo Holdings received money from and hosted videos from the pornographic video company GirlsDoPorn until 2019.
However, she must have known at this point that some of the women appearing in the videos had been deceived and the videos had been broadcast on the Pornhub platform without her consent.
The agreement highlights that some women even requested their removal as early as 2016, which did not always happen.
Sexual exploitation
“Motivated by profit, Aylo Holdings knowingly enriched itself by ignoring the concerns of victims who told it they were deceived and coerced into engaging in illegal sexual activity,” FBI Assistant Director James Smith said in the press release.
“Make no mistake, any company that engages in sexual exploitation will be held accountable for the torment and terror inflicted on victims,” he added.
To avoid further legal proceedings, Aylo agreed to pay 1.85 million to the American authorities and 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 adhered to.
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