The anti-pornography movement is growing in the United States, despite the offensive content being shoved upon people everywhere, and the movement has just received a massive victory.
Mindgeek CEO Feras Antoon and COO David Tassillo, who own a collection of the top pornographic websites, have resigned, according to Insider.
These two men had control over various porn sites such as Pornhub, Redtube, and YouPorn. These porn sites have fallen under intense scrutiny under claims of human trafficking, child pornography, and rape videos found on these websites. "Antoon and Tassillo leave MindGeek's day-to-day operations after more than a decade in leadership positions with the company," a MindGeek spokesperson told Insider. Numerous outlets have noted that the resignations came the week after The New Yorker published a report of the rape videos and child pornography found on the website.
Mindgeek’s spokesperson has conveniently denied the connection between the departure and the report about this disgusting content. "The New Yorker had the opportunity to seriously evaluate what works in fighting illegal material on the internet by looking at the facts, comparing the policies of platforms, and studying the results," the spokesperson told Insider, "Instead, they chose to ignore the fact that MindGeek has more comprehensive and effective policies than any other major platform on the internet, and decided to peddle the same gross mischaracterizations that anti-porn extremists have spewed for decades."
Mindgeek is no stranger to terrible press. In December 2020, the New York Times published a column about the underage content on Pornhub. In June 2021, 34 women filed a civil case against MindGeek. They were accused of profiting from videos posted to Pornhub without their consent, with 34 of 14 plaintiffs saying they had been victims of underage sex trafficking.
Companies like MindGeek are getting what they deserve and should continue to be investigated.
