OTTAWA — More than 70 parliamentarians from all parties are calling for a full-on criminal investigation into Pornhub’s parent company.
The demand, spelled out in a letter today to RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki, follows a similar request by more than 100 survivors of exploitive content posted to websites owned by the Montreal-based MindGeek.
The letter cites recent testimony from victims and child-protection organizations that the porn giant regularly hosted material featuring child pornography and sexual assault, and videos shot or posted without subjects’ consent.
MindGeek has denied all accusations of wrongdoing, saying it is a global leader in preventing distribution of content that shows child sexual abuse and other exploitive content.
Conservative MP Arnold Viersen says the hoops survivors have to jump through to get illegal content pulled down are “egregious,” and that existing laws need more rigorous enforcement.
In December, the parliamentary ethics committee launched a study on how to protect the privacy and reputations of people who appear on pornography websites after an explosive New York Times opinion piece alleging Pornhub shared child pornography.