Aylo Holdings, the parent company of Pornhub and the entity formerly known as MindGeek, has agreed to pay $1.8 million to the U.S. government to resolve a federal investigation into the company’s handling of sex-trafficking proceeds, according to an agreement finalized on December 23, 2023.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with Aylo, charging the company with engaging in unlawful monetary transactions tied to proceeds from the GirlsDoPorn (GDP) criminal operation. Prosecutors alleged that between 2017 and 2019, Aylo hosted videos and accepted payments from GDP operators who had coerced women into filming adult content.
“This deferred prosecution agreement holds the parent company of Pornhub.com accountable for its role in hosting videos and accepting payments from criminal actors,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace in a statement accompanying the announcement.
Beyond the $1.8 million payment to the U.S. government, the agreement requires Aylo to make separate financial payments to victims whose images were posted on its platforms as part of the GDP scheme. The company will also submit to oversight by a court-appointed independent monitor for three years.
Under the terms of a deferred prosecution agreement, Aylo avoids criminal conviction provided it meets all compliance, remediation, and monitoring conditions. Failure to comply would allow prosecutors to revive the charge.
The settlement arrives as Aylo faces mounting regulatory scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic. The company was also named to the European Union’s list of Very Large Online Platforms under the Digital Services Act, placing it under stricter content-moderation obligations alongside competitors Stripchat and XVideos.
Aylo rebranded from MindGeek in 2023 amid ongoing legal and legislative pressure over content-moderation practices on its platforms.
