The state of Utah and the Federal Trade Commission reached a settlement with two of the world's largest porn sites — both of which have blocked viewers in Utah from seeing their content.
The Utah Department of Commerce and its Division of Consumer Protection, the Utah Attorney General's Office and the FTC announced a consent order against Aylo, which operates Pornhub, Redtube, YouPorn and other sites over accusations it hosted child sexual abuse material and non-consensual sexual material (spycams and revenge porn). Aylo has agreed to pay a $5 million settlement to the state.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Utah Department of Commerce Executive Director Margaret Woolley Busse accused Aylo of being "systematically deceptive" on its sites by insisting it had "robust" measures in place to guard against such content.
"We also know that many of the videos that contain the child sexual abuse material and the non-consensual material involve people here in Utah. They have been harmed by this and continue to be harmed by this by people watching all over the world," Busse said.
The state alleges that Aylo allowed the content to be distributed on its sites, ignoring warnings and consumers of the sites unwittingly viewed, downloaded or shared the images without knowing they were illegal. Utah went after the sites under the state's Consumer Sales Practices Act.
Utah Attorney General Derek Brown likened the litigation to lawsuits against "Big Pharma" and "Big Tech." He said the First Amendment does offer protections for some adult content, but not this type of material.
"Since at least 2012, many of these sites have hosted tens of thousands of videos and photos that have featured child sex abuse material and non-consensual material," he said.
FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak, who was formerly Utah's Solicitor General, said the complaint was filed in federal court on Wednesday and a proposed settlement was also filed with a judge.
Under the terms of the settlement, Aylo will also implement new programs to prevent the posting of child sexual abuse material, implement a verification system for people who appear in the videos to ensure they have consented, remove content more quickly when notified it's non-consensual, and post a notice on its site informing people about Utah and the FTC's consent order.
"We want consumers to understand the allegations of this complaint. It also warns consumers that if you’re uploading content that shouldn’t be there? You might be violating the law," Holyoak told FOX 13 News.
An auditor will ensure compliance for the next 10 years, the Division of Consumer Protection said. If there are further violations? Aylo will pay an additional $10 million.
In an email to FOX 13 News reacting to the state's announcement, Aylo said the complaint involves incidents before 2020. The company said since then, it has implemented new measures including mandatory uploader verification, proof of consent and identification, and collaboration with anti-exploitation groups.
"The resolution reached involved enhancements to existing measures but did not introduce any new substantive requirements that were not either already in place or in progress. This settlement resolves the investigation and underscores Aylo's commitment to robust safety protocols that should be applied broadly across all websites publishing user generated content," the company said.
"Aylo supports vigorous enforcement against CSAM and NCM, and encourages the FTC and Utah DCP to extend their initiative to protect the public across the broader internet, adult and mainstream, fostering a safer online environment for everyone. Throughout the investigation, Aylo worked to cooperatively resolve the concerns raised by the FTC and Utah DCP."
Aylo and its sites admitted no wrongdoing, the company said.
But Utah's attorney general said the impact of the settlement may reach other porn website operators.
"We are forcing change in an industry where it’s long overdue. Because the most important thing we can do is protect kids," Brown told FOX 13 News.
In protest of laws the state passed several years ago cracking down on adult-entertainment sites and demanding age verification, Pornhub and Redtube proactively blocked Utah viewers from seeing their sites. Those bans have existed for years, but viewers have found ways around it, including the use of VPNs.
Some adult entertainment sites have complied with a Utah law that requires an "opt-in" and a warning of pornographic content.
