MindGeek’s new owner vows ‘public and transparent ownership’ after Pornhub controversy
An Ottawa lawyer used to defending folks from critical felony allegations is now hoping to jot down a brand new chapter within the story concerning the world’s largest — and extremely controversial — porn website.
Solomon Friedman is without doubt one of the companions of Ethical Capital Partners (ECP), a non-public fairness agency based final 12 months within the nation’s capital that introduced on Thursday it acquired Montreal-based MindGeek, the proprietor of Pornhub. The phrases of the deal usually are not being made public.
Pornhub has been mired in controversy amid a number of lawsuits alleging the positioning’s proprietor allowed baby sexual abuse materials and different unlawful content material to be uploaded and profited from it. MindGeek’s web site boasts 115 million every day guests to its numerous porn properties, which embrace web sites equivalent to YouPorn, Redtube, and Brazzers.
So why did this Ottawa agency wish to take it over?
Friedman stated he took a deep dive into the corporate’s operations and security protocols to counter unlawful content material and stated he “just couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”
“I can tell you this as a criminal lawyer myself, illegal content is not an adult entertainment problem. In fact, it is exponentially more likely to be found on what we consider mainstream platforms like your Facebook, Twitter and Reddit,” he stated in an interview with CTV News.
MindGeek has beforehand introduced instruments to fight unlawful content material, together with picture recognition expertise, a brand new content material elimination request kind, and new moderation insurance policies to flag and take away content material.
“Once we got to look at the inner workings of the company, we quickly became extremely comfortable with the processes and the world-leading technology that they have in place and we can’t wait to take it to the next level,” Solomon stated.
Transforming the corporate’s fame will definitely be a problem for the brand new proprietor. Protecting minors from sexual exploitation and stopping non-consensual sexual content material from being shared on locations like Pornhub, he acknowledged, is an “enormous challenge,” however he stated it begins with “public and transparent ownership.”
MindGeek’s former executives have traditionally been elusive and have largely averted talking to the media. Its CEO and COO, Feras Antoon and David Tassillo, stepped down final June.
The Pornhub web site is proven on a pc display screen in Toronto, Dec. 16, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS
ECP lists hashish entrepreneur Rocco Meliambro and felony lawyer Fady Mansour as its founding companions on its web site.
Other members of the agency embrace Derek Ogden, a retired chief superintendent with the RCMP. Solomon is listed as vice-president of compliance.
MindGeek is legally headquartered in Luxembourg however has its important workplace in a nondescript glass constructing on Decarie Boulevard in Montreal. It settled a class-action lawsuit in California in 2021 alleging it profited off materials displaying baby sexual abuse and non-consensual exercise. Several Canadians have been among the many plaintiffs.
Last fall, an Alabama mom sued MindGeek for internet hosting and benefiting from a video on Pornhub of her 12-year-old son being molested by a 36-year-old man. The man was sentenced to 40 years in jail for sexual offences after pleading responsible to the abuse.
Solomon declined to touch upon the excellent lawsuits in opposition to MindGeek.
“It takes time. It takes diligence, but there will be just outcomes and we are looking forward to the fair, judicial process taking its course and we will be making announcements as required,” he stated.
‘VAST REFORMS’ NEEDED, QUEBEC SENATOR SAYS
After the New York Times revealed a narrative about allegations of sexual exploitation on Pornhub, MindGeek introduced it was halting video uploads from unverified customers.
MindGeek has beforehand stated in statements to CTV News that it has “zero tolerance for non-consensual content, child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and any other content that lack the consent of all parties depicted.”
It additionally stated it has a “comprehensive” staff of human moderators that evaluations every video add.
A Quebec senator who has been an outspoken critic of MindGeek stated she was not shocked by the acquisition on Thursday.
Sen. Julie Miville-Dechêne is the co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group to End Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking. She instructed Noovo Info that she hopes the brand new proprietor takes steps to ban unlawful content material.
“I think they absolutely have to avoid videos showing sexual exploitation on its platform, they have to avoid non-consensual images, and for that, it is necessary to make vast reforms,” she stated Friday. “Above all, we must prevent children from having access with impunity to this kind of material, which sometimes can cause them harm.”
The ECP acquisition comes seven months after Visa and Mastercard lower ties with the promoting arm of Pornhub’s proprietor over considerations concerning the content material on its website.
With recordsdata from The Canadian Press
