In a sign that the operators of adult websites may be walking back claims they are shielded from liability for user-posted child sexual abuse material (CSAM) by Section 230, Pornhub’s parent company has agreed to a settlement in a widely watched case. Under the agreement, Pornhub’s parent would pay $120 million to settle two class action lawsuits claiming the company profited from CSAM allegedly posted to the website by abusers. The lawsuits in California and Alabama were filed in 2021 against Pornhub’s then-parent company, MindGeek. Ethical Capital Partners purchased MindGeek and rebranded it as Aylo in 2023.
A notice of motion filed by the Jane Doe plaintiff in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Aug. 18 said they would be asking the court for preliminary approval of the $120 million class-action settlement. The motion also proposes appointing a settlement administrator, establishing procedures for notifying class members, and establishing procedures and deadlines for objections.
A memorandum accompanying the plaintiff’s notice said the sexual exploitation of thousands of children was uploaded to MindGeek’s pornographic websites by third parties and distributed worldwide. It said the videos and images were viewed more than 684 million times on Pornhub and MindGeek’s other websites. It noted that MindGeek claimed Section 230 shielded it from liability, a 1996 amendment to the Communications Act of 1934 that protects websites and applications from being held legally responsible for items posted by users.
Deal Settles Two Class Action Suits
Both of the class action lawsuits filed against MindGeek and its affiliated companies claim they financially benefited from knowingly receiving, distributing, and contributing to tens of thousands of pieces of CSAM on their websites. Those websites included Pornhub, Youporn, and Redtube.
The California plaintiff claimed her physically and psychologically abusive boyfriend had sex with her as a minor and recorded it without her consent. After the relationship ended, she learned that the former boyfriend had uploaded sexually explicit videos of her that were taken when she was a minor as revenge porn on MindGeek’s websites. The videos could be freely viewed, downloaded, and re-uploaded. The plaintiff alleged that the company had reviewed her CSAM videos prior to distributing them to the public.
The plaintiff in the Alabama case alleged that she was drugged and raped by her abuser while she was still a minor. The abuser then uploaded video recordings of her assault and other CSAM to Pornhub. That plaintiff claims MindGeek reviewed the CSAMs before making them available for download and viewing.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit brought class-wide claims against MindGeek for the receipt and distribution of child pornography and knowingly benefiting from participation in a sex trafficking venture. The California plaintiff also brought a class action claim under the California Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the California Unfair Competition Law. Finally, the California plaintiff brought individual claims against MindGeek for distribution of private sexually explicit materials and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Terms of the Proposed Settlement
Under the agreement outlined in the plaintiff’s notice, Aylo and the other defendants would pay $120 million into a non-reversionary settlement fund in seven installments, with the first $25 million paid on July 31, 2026. That would be followed by six annual installment payments of $15.83 million each June. The payments would be deposited into an interest-bearing escrow account administered by the settlement administrator.
The agreement would also provide extensive injunctive relief to deter and reduce CSAM uploads to the defendants’ websites. Key provisions of the injunctive relief would require the defendants to:
- Verify, using government-issued identification, that each person who uploads or is depicted on the defendants’ websites was at least 18
- Implement extensive content moderation to review, detect, and remove suspected or actual CSAM materials using technological tools and human moderators
- Expand procedures for content removal requests, withdrawal of consent requests, and content flagging
- Implement enhanced mandatory policies and procedures to address suspected or actual CSAM that would include fingerprinting and reporting, deleting content, and banning users.
- Report on the defendants’ websites the policies, procedures, and actions taken related to suspected or actual CSAM
- Expand procedures intended to prevent non-consensual materials from being made available on the defendants’ websites
Additionally, the agreement would establish a monitoring committee to enforce and monitor the defendants’ compliance with its provisions. It would meet annually for at least five years.
A $120 Million Signal to Adult Websites
While Aylo has continued to maintain that it is protected from liability by Section 230, the fact it settled for such a large sum seems to indicate that the company was concerned the courts would not agree. The settlement also indicates that similar CSAM-related class action lawsuits against other pornographic websites could also be successful. At minimum, it ensures that the Aylo-owned websites of Pornhub, Youporn, and Redtube will increase their efforts to keep CSAM off their sites.
