Two large credit card companies are reexamining their business relationship with pornography website Pornhub.
Investigations at Visa and Mastercard are underway after the New York Times published a report by columnist Nicholas Kristof on Friday that alleged that Pornhub monetizes “child rapes, revenge pornography, spy videos of women showering, racist and misogynist content, and footage of women being asphyxiated in plastic bags.”
Pornhub, which is owned by MindGeek, a large conglomerate that owns many different porn sites, called the claims “irresponsible and flagrantly untrue.”
“We are aware of the allegations, and we are actively engaging with the relevant financial institutions to investigate, in addition to engaging directly with the site’s parent company, MindGeek,” Visa told the Associated Press in a statement. Visa added that if the company found Pornhub was in violation of the law or bank policies, the site would be barred from using Visa payments.
Mastercard told the Hill it would take “immediate action” if it found the allegations are substantiated and has “zero tolerance for illegal activity on our network.”
“We are investigating the allegations raised in the New York Times and are working with MindGeek’s bank to understand this situation, in addition to the other steps they have already taken,” the statement added. “When we identify illegal activity, our policy is to ask the acquirer to terminate the relationship, unless an effective compliance plan is put in place.”
Pornhub, which publicly donates to left-wing groups that focus on racial issues, blasted allegations that its website has content showing sexually abused children, saying it is “unequivocally committed to combating child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and has instituted a comprehensive, industry-leading trust and safety policy to identify and eradicate illegal material from our community.”
