Mastercard, Visa urged to withhold payments to Pornhub for alleged showing of child abuse and rape videos

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman called on Mastercard and Visa Inc. to temporarily withhold payments to Pornhub.com following allegations by The New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof that many of its videos depicted child abuse and rape.

Kristof alleged that the videos featured assaults on unconscious women and girls, making the issue not of pornography but rape.

Ackman also asked American Express Co to take action, though it prohibits acceptance of its cards on digital adult content websites.

Mastercard, who was investigating the allegations with the bank of Pornhub’s parent MindGeek, said it would take immediate action if the claims are substantiated.

Visa said it is aware of the allegations and is “actively engaging with the relevant financial institutions to investigate,” while also engaging directly with MindGeek.

According to Visa, if they find the site as not complying with applicable laws or their policies and underwriting standards, it will no longer be able to accept payments through them.

Ackman suggested it should be made illegal for porn sites to post videos before they are reviewed by a monitor, and until the ages and consent of participants have been validated.

Pornhub denied the allegations, saying that any claim that they are allowing child sexual abuse material is flagrantly untrue and irresponsible.
It claimed to have a vast team of human moderators who manually review every upload, on top of its automated detection technologies.

In reaction to Kristof’s column, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government was working with police and security officials to address the issues.

In the US, Senator Josh Hawley vowed to introduce legislation creating a federal right to sue for every person coerced, trafficked, or exploited by sites like Pornhub.