Alabama joins 25 other states demanding answers to Pornhub ‘loophole’

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Alabama is joining a growing number of states seeking answers from the parent company of online pornography site Pornhub over concerns related to underage content.

On Friday, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshal signed onto a letter with 25 other states addressed to PornHub’s parent company, Aylo. The states’ inquiries follow the release of video by an undercover journalist in which an employee apparently discusses Pornhub’s moderation practices and a “loophole” in the site’s upload process.

The process to post pornographic material to Pornhub requires the uploader to submit a photo ID, but they are not required to show their face in the material uploaded. The employee states there is no way to confirm the person uploading the photo ID is the same person in the content.

When asked if rapists and human traffickers use this loophole to upload content of their victims to make money, the employee replies, “Of course.”

“As you are aware, various Federal and state laws forbid the creation and distribution of CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material),” the states’ note in their letter to Aylo. “We are concerned that Aylo and its subsidiary Pornhub, and possibly other subsidiaries, may be proliferating the production and dissemination of CSAM through the ‘loophole’ identified by your employee.”

The letter asks Aylo to provide an explanation about the “loophole” and whether the company and its subsidiaries do permit content creators and performers to obscure their faces in uploaded content. The letter further seeks answers about what measures Aylo is taking to change this policy to ensure that no children or other victims are being abused for profit on any of its platforms.

States that have so far signed onto the letter, led by the State of South Carolina, include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

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