Pornhub Pays $5 Million Settlement Over Child Abuse Content

Pornhub and its parent company Aylo have agreed to pay a $5 million penalty to the state of Utah and implement measures to prevent the distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and non-consensual content (NCM) on their platforms. This settlement resolves charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Utah, which accused the company of misleading users by inadequately blocking illegal content despite claiming such content was strictly prohibited. Under the agreement, Aylo must establish a compliance program that includes verifying that individuals featured in videos or photos are adults who have consented to the content, removing non-consensual material promptly, and posting notices about the consent order. An auditor will monitor Aylo's compliance with these measures for the next ten years. The settlement reaffirms Aylo's commitment to maintaining high safety standards without admission of wrongdoing, while marking a significant regulatory effort to protect users from harmful online content. Additionally, Pornhub and affiliated sites have blocked viewers from Utah for years in response to the state's age verification laws, though some users bypass the restrictions using VPNs.