Dozens of women have sued Pornhub, alleging that it posted and profited from videos depicting sex trafficking, child sexual exploitation and other non-consensual sexual content.
The complaint filed Thursday targets Pornhub’s parent company, MindGeek, for allegedly being a “classic criminal enterprise” and allowing the monetization of non-consensual sexual content. Brown Rudnick LLP filed a civil complaint on behalf of 34 victims of sexual exploitation who seek damages and protection, according to CNN Business.
“This is a case about rape, not pornography,” the complaint reads. “And it is a case about each of these defendants knowingly and intentionally electing to capitalize and profit from the horrendous exploitation and abuse of tens of thousands of other human beings so they could make more than the enormous sums of money they would have otherwise made anyway.”
The complaint lists just one of the defendants — a woman named Serena Fleites — while the other 33 remain anonymous.
One of the anonymous plaintiffs told reporters on a conference call that a video posted of her on Pornhub ruined her life, and joined the lawsuit to “seek justice” for herself and the “countless” other victims who did not come forward, according to CNN.
Michael Bow, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, told reporters on the same call that the online porn industry operates as an “old-school red-light district of commerce.” Bow said he thinks rules should apply to the industry, and more should be adopted.
MindGeek is a major player in the online porn world. The company owns over 100 websites, production companies and brands including Pornhub, RedTube, Tube8, Xtube and Youporn. CBS reported that while MindGeek owns production companies that create original pornographic content, for years, a majority of the content on Pornhub was uploaded by users who were not verified. Pornhub also is free for anyone on the internet to access.
While Pornhub “takes every complaint regarding the abuse of its platform seriously, including those of the plaintiffs in this case,” it rebuffed the allegation that the company was a “criminal enterprise” in a statement provided to CNN.
Its various entities get 3.5 billion views per month, lawyers told CNN. (RELATED: Pornhub Executive, MindGeek CEO’s House Burns Down In Suspected Arson).
The suit is the latest in a slew of legal actions taken against Pornhub and MindGeek. Visa, Mastercard and Discover barred their customers from making purchases on Pornhub in December after similar allegations of showing child abuse and non-consensual sexual behavior on the site surfaced.
