Nearly three dozen women have filed a lawsuit in California against adult video website&nbsp;Pornhub, accusing it and its parent company of knowingly profiting from footage depicting rape and sexual exploitation, including of minors.

Lawyers representing the 34 plaintiffs accuse the online giant, one of the world's largest adult video websites,&nbsp;of creating a teeming marketplace for child pornography and "every other form" of nonconsensual sexual content, and want the company to pay damages.

They accuse MindGeek, the controversial adult entertainment empire that runs&nbsp;Pornhub, of being a "classic criminal enterprise" with a business model based on exploiting non-consensual sexual content.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pornhub-under-fire-for-rape-and-abuse-videos-285295">Pornhub under fire for rape and abuse videos</a>

"This is a case about rape, not pornography," the complaint said, describing the website as "likely the largest non-regulatory repository of child pornography in North America and well beyond."

All but one of the plaintiffs, who reside both in the United States and abroad, wished to remain anonymous.

Fourteen said they were minors when they were filmed and should be considered "a victim of child sex trafficking".

Michael Bowe, a lawyer representing the women, told CBS News the court could order MindGeek to pay hundreds of millions to his clients.

Serena Fleites, the only plaintiff to be named, said that in 2014 she learned that "a nude, sexually explicit video" that her boyfriend had coerced her to make when she was only 13 years old had been uploaded to&nbsp;Pornhub&nbsp;without her consent.

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The video remained online until the teen, posing as her mother, asked&nbsp;Pornhub&nbsp;to remove it.

Yet the video was not taken down for several weeks, the lawsuit said, and during that time it was downloaded and reuploaded by several different users, with each video requiring a fresh request to remove it.

The plaintiffs' lawyers accuse MindGeek of operating a "gaslighting campaign" online in a bid to discredit the victims, as well as making "threats of physical violence and death" against them.

They are also suing Visa Inc, one of the world's largest payments processing companies, for "knowingly" profiting from trafficking in providing merchant services to MindGeek.

Both Visa and Mastercard&nbsp;suspended processing payments for&nbsp;Pornhub&nbsp;in December, after a New York Times article accused the site of hosting illegal content, including child pornography and rape videos.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/mastercard-visa-investigate-financial-ties-with-pornhub-348155">Mastercard, Visa investigate financial ties with Pornhub</a>

According to the suit, MindGeek owns more than 100 pornographic sites, including&nbsp;Pornhub, RedTube, Tube8 and YouPorn, and sees some 3.5 billion visits each month.

Montreal-based MindGeek described the suit's accusation that it is running a "criminal enterprise" as "utterly absurd, completely reckless and categorically false," according to US media.

Pornhub, which claims 130 million visitors a day, has denied allegations of trafficking and announced a series of measures to combat illegal content.

Nearly three dozen women have filed a lawsuit in California against adult video website Pornhub, accusing it and its parent company of knowingly profiting from footage depicting rape and sexual exploitation, including of minors.

Nearly three dozen women have filed a lawsuit in California against adult video website Pornhub, accusing it and its parent company of knowingly profiting from footage depicting rape and sexual exploitation, including of minors. Lawyers representing the 34 plaintiffs accuse the online giant, one of the world's largest adult video websites, of creating a teeming marketplace for child pornography and "every other form" of nonconsensual sexual content, and want the company to pay damages. They accuse MindGeek, the controversial adult entertainment empire that runs Pornhub, of being a "classic criminal enterprise" with a business model based on exploiting non-consensual sexual content. Also read | Pornhub under fire for rape and abuse videos "This is a case about rape, not pornography," the complaint said, describing the website as "likely the largest non-regulatory repository of child pornography in North America and well beyond." All but one of the plaintiffs, who reside both in the United States and abroad, wished to remain anonymous. Fourteen said they were minors when they were filmed and should be considered "a victim of child sex trafficking". Michael Bowe, a lawyer representing the women, told CBS News the court could order MindGeek to pay hundreds of millions to his clients. Serena Fleites, the only plaintiff to be named, said that in 2014 she learned that "a nude, sexually explicit video" that her boyfriend had coerced her to make when she was only 13 years old had been uploaded to Pornhub without her consent. The video remained online until the teen, posing as her mother, asked Pornhub to remove it. Yet the video was not taken down for several weeks, the lawsuit said, and during that time it was downloaded and reuploaded by several different users, with each video requiring a fresh request to remove it. The plaintiffs' lawyers accuse MindGeek of operating a "gaslighting campaign" online in a bid to discredit the victims, as well as making "threats of physical violence and death" against them. They are also suing Visa Inc, one of the world's largest payments processing companies, for "knowingly" profiting from trafficking in providing merchant services to MindGeek. Both Visa and Mastercard suspended processing payments for Pornhub in December, after a New York Times article accused the site of hosting illegal content, including child pornography and rape videos. Also read | Mastercard, Visa investigate financial ties with Pornhub According to the suit, MindGeek owns more than 100 pornographic sites, including Pornhub, RedTube, Tube8 and YouPorn, and sees some 3.5 billion visits each month. Montreal-based MindGeek described the suit's accusation that it is running a "criminal enterprise" as "utterly absurd, completely reckless and categorically false," according to US media. Pornhub, which claims 130 million visitors a day, has denied allegations of trafficking and announced a series of measures to combat illegal content.

34 women sue Pornhub in sex abuse video, trafficking case

Credit card giants Visa and Mastercard&nbsp;are investigating their business relationship with Pornhub after a New York Times columnist alleged that the pornographic website shows videos of rape and underage sex.

Mastercard said&nbsp;it does not tolerate illegal activity on its payment network, and that it works with law enforcement and organizations like the National Center for Missing and&nbsp;Exploited Children to detect illegal transactions. Pornhub has denied it allows child videos on its site.

"We are examining the charges brought up in the New York Times and are working with MindGeek's bank to comprehend this circumstance, notwithstanding different advances they have just taken," Mastercard said in an articulation. "In the event that the cases are validated, we will make a prompt move."&nbsp;

Nicholas Kristof, opinion columnist at The New York Times,&nbsp;wrote Friday&nbsp;that Pornhub carries rape scenes, revenge pornography and other examples of explicit video taken without consent of the participants.

Pornhub said it is “irresponsible and flagrantly untrue” to suggest that it allows images of the sexual abuse of children on its site. Pornhub added that it employs moderators to screen every upload and that it removes illegal material.

The online payment service PayPal last year stopped processing payments to Pornhub, which is owned by the pornography conglomerate MindGeek. The columnist called out other card issuers for working with the site.

In response to Kristof’s story, Visa and Mastercard said they’re investigating the matter.

“We are aware of the allegations, and we are actively engaging with the relevant financial institutions to investigate, in addition to engaging directly with the site’s parent company, MindGeek,” Visa said Sunday.

Visa added that if Pornhub is violating the law or bank policies, then the website will be prohibited from accepting Visa payments.

Meanwhile, Mastercard promised “immediate action″ if the allegations are substantiated.

“We are investigating the allegations raised in the New York Times and are working with MindGeek’s bank to understand this situation,” Mastercard said in a statement.

Processing payments for pornography websites has long divided the payments and banking industry, and sex workers have claimed they’ve had their bank accounts shut down after lenders learned of their profession.

PayPal Holdings Inc. doesn’t process payments for Pornhub.com. American Express Co.’s cards aren’t accepted on Pornhub, and a spokeswoman on Saturday said the firm has a longstanding policy that prohibits card acceptance on digital adult content websites.

Credit card giants Visa and Mastercard are investigating their business relationship with Pornhub after a New York Times columnist alleged that the pornographic website shows videos of rape and underage sex.

Credit card giants Visa and Mastercard are investigating their business relationship with Pornhub after a New York Times columnist alleged that the pornographic website shows videos of rape and underage sex. Mastercard said it does not tolerate illegal activity on its payment network, and that it works with law enforcement and organizations like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to detect illegal transactions. Pornhub has denied it allows child videos on its site. "We are examining the charges brought up in the New York Times and are working with MindGeek's bank to comprehend this circumstance, notwithstanding different advances they have just taken," Mastercard said in an articulation. "In the event that the cases are validated, we will make a prompt move." Nicholas Kristof, opinion columnist at The New York Times, wrote Friday that Pornhub carries rape scenes, revenge pornography and other examples of explicit video taken without consent of the participants. Pornhub said it is “irresponsible and flagrantly untrue” to suggest that it allows images of the sexual abuse of children on its site. Pornhub added that it employs moderators to screen every upload and that it removes illegal material. The online payment service PayPal last year stopped processing payments to Pornhub, which is owned by the pornography conglomerate MindGeek. The columnist called out other card issuers for working with the site. In response to Kristof’s story, Visa and Mastercard said they’re investigating the matter. “We are aware of the allegations, and we are actively engaging with the relevant financial institutions to investigate, in addition to engaging directly with the site’s parent company, MindGeek,” Visa said Sunday. Visa added that if Pornhub is violating the law or bank policies, then the website will be prohibited from accepting Visa payments. Meanwhile, Mastercard promised “immediate action″ if the allegations are substantiated. “We are investigating the allegations raised in the New York Times and are working with MindGeek’s bank to understand this situation,” Mastercard said in a statement. Processing payments for pornography websites has long divided the payments and banking industry, and sex workers have claimed they’ve had their bank accounts shut down after lenders learned of their profession. PayPal Holdings Inc. doesn’t process payments for Pornhub.com. American Express Co.’s cards aren’t accepted on Pornhub, and a spokeswoman on Saturday said the firm has a longstanding policy that prohibits card acceptance on digital adult content websites.

Mastercard, Visa investigate financial ties with Pornhub

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/australia-probes-paypal-over-payments-for-child-abuse-content-251636">PayPal</a> Holdings Inc said on Thursday it had stopped payment support to PornHub's models after it found the adult entertainment website made certain payments without the permission of the payment processor.

"Following a review, we have discovered that PornHub has made certain&nbsp;business&nbsp;payments through PayPal without seeking our permission.&nbsp;We have taken action to stop these transactions from occurring," PayPal said in an email statement.

PornHub, owned by Luxembourg-headquartered company MindGeek, said it was "devastated by PayPal's decision to stop payouts to over a hundred thousand performers who rely on them for their livelihoods".

MindGeek did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

PayPal Holdings Inc said on Thursday it had stopped payment support to PornHub's models after it found the adult entertainment website made certain payments without the permission of the payment processor.

PayPal Holdings Inc said on Thursday it had stopped payment support to PornHub's models after it found the adult entertainment website made certain payments without the permission of the payment processor. "Following a review, we have discovered that PornHub has made certain business payments through PayPal without seeking our permission. We have taken action to stop these transactions from occurring," PayPal said in an email statement. PornHub, owned by Luxembourg-headquartered company MindGeek, said it was "devastated by PayPal's decision to stop payouts to over a hundred thousand performers who rely on them for their livelihoods". MindGeek did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

PayPal halts payment support to PornHub models

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