NEW: Privacy Commissioner says Pornhub failed to obtain
meaningful consent before allowing adult content on website.
Brief: Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s investigation into Pornhub operator Aylo
On February 29, 2024, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) released an investigation into Pornhub operator Aylo (formerly MindGeek). This report was scheduled for release in May 2023, but was delayed for over 9 months when Aylo launched legal proceedings to block its release.
The OPC’s investigation into Aylo/MindGeek was in response to a complaint from a woman whose ex-boyfriend had uploaded an intimate content of her to MindGeek websites without her consent. The complainant had to use a professional takedown service to remove her ‘images from approximately 80 websites, where they had been reposted more than 700 times.’
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Privacy Commissioner’s Findings - General
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MindGeek’s takedown process was, and still is, extremely onerous for individuals. (Overview)
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The Complainant further explained to our Office that the disclosure of her intimate images across the Internet, and the permanent loss of control over her intimate images, had a devastating effect on her. It caused her to withdraw from her social life and live in a state of fear and anxiety. (18)
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This untenable situation could have been avoided in many cases had MindGeek obtained direct consent from each individual depicted in content prior to or at the time of upload. (147)
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Pornhub’s own Monthly Non-Consensual Content reports suggest that non-consensual content is still regularly uploaded and viewed by thousands of users before it is removed. (172)
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There are many allegations of CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material) having been found on MindGeek websites, and on pornographic websites in general. (179)
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MindGeek surely benefits commercially from these non-compliant privacy practices, which result in a larger content volume/stream and library of intimate content on its websites. However these practices also create a high risk of causing serious collateral damage in the form of devastating harms to individuals whose most sensitive personal information is shared on the internet without their knowledge and consent, including reputational and financial damages, mental health issues and attempted suicide. (177)
Privacy Commissioner’s Findings - Consent
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We find that given the sensitivity of the personal information and the fact that certain uploaders can be motivated to intentionally post content without affected individuals’ consent, MindGeek must obtain express consent directly from each individual depicted in content uploaded to its websites. (117)
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MindGeek continues to rely on uploaders for that consent, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that this results in the posting of vast amounts of intimate content without consent. (172)
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We find that by continuing to rely solely on the uploader to verify consent, MindGeek fails to ensure that it has obtained valid and meaningful consent from all individuals depicted in content uploaded to its websites. (118)