Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is taking heat for his administration’s inaction against MindGeek, the Canada-based parent company of embattled pornography platform Pornhub.
Last week, Trudeau was asked about the subject after New York Times columnist Nick Kristof published a lengthy op-ed regarding Pornhub, which has been accused for years now of hosting child pornography as well as footage of sexual assaults and compromising, explicit videos of non-consenting females.
Trudeau chose — as he has before — to sidestep the issue.
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada calls himself a feminist and has been proud of his government’s efforts to empower women worldwide,” wrote Kristof. “So a question for Trudeau and all Canadians: Why does Canada host a company that inflicts rape videos on the world?”
But even after being asked about Kristof’s pointed criticism, the prime minister “remains evasive” on the subject of Pornhub, according to reporter Julie Miville-Dechene, who said he “dodged” a question on the issue.
While Trudeau has failed to take action against Pornhub, the issues surrounding the pornography platform have sparked a U.S.-based petition to have the website removed from the internet. Furthermore, major credit card companies like Discovery, Visa, and Mastercard have faced pressure to end their partnerships with a website proven to host illegal content.
It appears Kristof’s piece in The Times has put those companies under a magnifying glass yet again, according to Sky News.
In a statement this week, Visa said: “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.”
Similarly, Mastercard said it will take “immediate action” against Pornhub and MindGeek, should the allegations be proven.
“We are investigating the allegations raised in The New York Times and are working with MindGeek’s bank to understand this situation,” read a statement from Mastercard. “When we identify illegal activity, our policy is to ask the acquirer to terminate the relationship, unless an effective compliance plan is put in place.”
American Express, it should be noted, said its current company policy prohibits the use of an Amex card for “digital adult content websites.”
PayPal led the way in November 2019, when it cut ties with MindGeek.