Viersen happy to see adult entertainment site remove unverified content

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Peace River-Westlock Member of Parliament, Arnold Viersen is glad to see progress being made as he continues to raise red flags about adult entertainment site, PornHub. 

Viersen says an article from the New York Times revealed that there were millions of videos uploaded to the platform from unverified users. 

Viersen tells the Trending 55 Newsroom there has been a big shift as Pornhub removed content following the article earlier this month. 

“Interestingly, since this has come out, they have deleted 10 million videos,” stresses Viersen. 

“That’s 10 million videos deemed too risky, even for PornHub.” 

The article alleges that videos of child exploitation and sexual abuse were making its way to the site, which is owned by Montreal-based tech company, MindGeek. 

Viersen adds that even credit card companies and online payment services are trying to distance themselves from the company. 

“We have seen MasterCard and Visa cut ties with PornHub and with MindGeek; we have seen PayPal cut ties with them,” he points out. 

“The ground has shifted immensely.” 

Viersen is also calling on the federal government to take more action against the company. 

“Why could MasterCard and Visa within three days of an investigation say ‘there is illegal activity going on there and we will not be participating in it’ and almost a year ago, we raised this as a concern and the government did nothing about it at that time.” 

He did point out that the federal government is starting to explore the issue more closely. 

In the meantime, the Tory MP is scratching his head on the fact that so many unverified videos made its way to PornHub. 

“That is 10 million videos that we cannot verify if the person gave their consent for it to be posted,” he says. 

“That’s a lot!” 

Viersen is also a Co-Chair for the All-Party Parliamentary Group to End Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, and he says the group wants “victims of Pornhub to seek legal assistance and supports,” according to a statement from the group. 

Viersen tells us that two different advocacy groups are working to get legal advice for victims who wish to come forward.  

  “We are working with two groups, one in each official language,” explains the MP. 

“They are in negotiations with lawyers willing to take this on bro-bono so we will see how this goes, and we can hopefully get victims the justice they deserve.” 

– Kenny Trenton, Trending 55 Newsroom

 

 

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