SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The State of Utah and Federal Trade Commission targeted the owner and operator of some of the world’s most popular adult content websites over alleged distribution of child sex abuse material (CSAM) and non-consensual material (NSM).
In proposed consent order, state and federal officials allege the company, Aylo, knew it had “hundreds of thousands” of CSAM and NSM videos on its websites. FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak and Utah Attorney General Derek Brown both noted that one of Aylo’s employees described one of their own sites as a “gold mine for rape content.”
“Utah stands ready to protect our children from exploitation wherever that exploitation takes place. The rise of the internet has unfortunately led to an increasing amount of instances of child exploitation,” said Brown. “It’s no longer limited to the dark web. Predators can find it more and more on regular sites.”
Despite knowing the alleged content on its site, the complaint alleges Aylo ignored “hundreds of red flags” and deceived consumers about the removal of the videos, allowing for consumers to unknowingly engage with illegal content.
MORE | Utah’s History with Adult Content Industry
Once court approved, the consent order forces Aylo into paying a $5 million fine, verifying the ages and consent of participants in its existing content, remove unverified content, and establish stricter guardrails to prevent CSAM and NSM in future content. Commissioner Holyoak said money from the fine would go into a fund used to protect and treat children harmed by online exploitation.
The order also requires Aylo to post a notice of the complaint and consent order on its websites and implement a privacy and information security program for its websites.
The consent order does not include any criminal charges or allegations and Commissioner Holyoak refused to comment on any pending investigations. However, the order does include a $10 million fine should Aylo violate the order at any time. An audit will be conducted every two years over the next decade to ensure compliance.
“We are going after obviously the most visited pornographic websites, but the world should take note that this is important to us. This is important to the FTC, it’s important to Utah, in terms of making sure that this type of material does not get up on those websites, and if it does, we are going to ensure the quick removal of that,” said Holyoak.
Brown echoed Holyoak, adding that he hopes the proposed content order sends an important signal to the adult content industry.
“If you think you can distribute and profit by exploiting our children, think again,” said Brown. “We will find you. We will hold you accountable.”
Officials did recognize Aylo had already taken some steps to combating CSAM and NSM on its websites. Earlier this year, Aylo announced a partnership with Kindred Tech, a New Zealand-based charity that takes action against online harm.
Through its partnership, Aylo and Kindred Tech work to enhance access to investigative tools and resources that support law enforcement worldwide against online child exploitation.
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