Multinational financial services corporation Visa Inc.’s CEO and Chairman Al Kelly strongly disagreed with accusations that the company aided the spread of child pornography by continuing to make payments to Pornhub, operated by MindGeek, after a judge denied Visa’s request to be excused from a child porn lawsuit.
In a statement issued Thursday, he voiced his disagreement with the court and said he was confident in his position. Kelly stated that Visa strongly opposes sex trafficking, sexual exploitation, and child sexual abuse. The company is well aware that it is illegal, and does not allow the use of its network for illegal purposes.
Kelly’s statement comes nearly a week after US District Judge Cormac Carney in California denied Visa’s request to dismiss a case in which 34 women claimed Pornhub hosted videos of them being sexually abused or assaulted as minors without their consent. According to the judge, Visa was aware that MindGeek’s websites were teeming with monetized child porn.
The lead plaintiff claimed that when she was 13 years old in 2014, her boyfriend uploaded a sexually explicit video of her to Pornhub without her knowledge or consent. After the video, titled ’13-Year Old Brunette Shows Off For the Camera,’ was published, the girl was harassed and bullied, dropped out of school, attempted suicide, and became addicted to heroin.
Since the New York Times published an article in December 2020 accusing the porn website of posting illegal content online, including child pornography and rape videos, the porn giant has faced growing backlash. These allegations were rejected. Visa and Mastercard came under scrutiny, and billionaire hedge funder Bill Ackman pressured the companies to stop providing services to Visa.
Following the judge’s decision on Friday, Kelly stated that the court decision created uncertainty about the role of TrafficJunky, MindGeek’s advertising arm, and that Visa had suspended its Visa acceptance privileges until further notice. Kelly said that nobody will not be able to use. Visa cards to purchase advertising on any sites, including Pornhub or other MindGeek-affiliated sites, during the suspension.
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