They're one of the leading adult entertainment sites on the internet, but accusations of misdealings by Pornhub have been talked about for years. Adult film entertainers have come forward to speak out about the platform, alleging that their images and videos were being used without their consent. There have also been allegations that Pornhub has approved and uploaded videos of underaged individuals, and when people complained, Pornhub was accused of not taking any action.
On Monday (December 7), it was reported that Visa and Mastercard are doing some investigating of their own into the adult site. Following an exposé by The New York Times, the credit and debit card companies are looking into "their financial links to MindGeek," Pornhub's parent company. The publication made claims that Pornhub features videos that show "child abuse and non-consensual sexual violence."
Visa said that they are "vigilant" when it comes to terminating any business dealings with companies that engage in illegal activity. “If the site is identified as not complying with applicable laws or the financial institutions’ acceptable use policies and underwriting standards, they will no longer be able to accept Visa payments,” they reportedly said in a statement. Mastercard echoed their sentiments.
The New York Times reported that some offenders of sexual violence or child abuse were arrested, however, Pornhub didn't face legal action for distributing the material. In response, Pornhub stated that are “unequivocally committed to combating child sexual abuse material, and has instituted a comprehensive, industry-leading trust and safety policy to identify and eradicate illegal material from our community.”
American Express doesn't allow its users to make payments to adult content sites with their cards and PayPal has its own ban as well.
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