Canada seeks court order to ensure Pornhub obtains consent for people featured on portal

Canada's Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne expressed concern regarding Aylo Holdings, the operator of sites like Pornhub, Youporn, Redtube, and Porn8.

Published on: Mar 4, 2025, 08:28:42 IST

By HT News Desk | Edited by Abhyjith K. Ashokan

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Canada's Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne said on Monday that he was seeking a court order against the operating company of Pornhub.com as well as other adult entertainment websites to make sure they have consent of people whose images are featured.

This photograph taken on May 24, 2022 in Toulouse shows screens displaying a minor child sign and the logo of the pornographic site Pornhub. (AFP)

This move is actually the second time in a year that Dufresne has expressed concern regarding Aylo Holdings, the operator of many such sites, according to a report by news agency Reuters.

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Some of the sites Aylo Holdings operates include adult entertainment video sharing ones such as Pornhub, Youporn, Redtube, and Porn8, as well as paysites such as Brazzers, Reality Kings, Twistys, and so on.

In February 2024, Dufresne had said that Aylo Holdings broke privacy laws by allowing users to share intimate images without the direct knowledge or permission of the people depicted in them.

“To date, Aylo has not adequately addressed the significant concerns that were identified in my investigation,” the report quoted him as saying. “Privacy is a fundamental right, and individuals must be protected.”

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Dufersne initially had launched a probe into this after a woman discovered that her ex-boyfriend had uploaded an intimate video as well as other images of her to Aylo's websites without her consent, according to the report.

However, Avlo said that this was a 2015 incident and that after the woman complained, the company has taken many steps to keep illegal material out of it, the report read.

Meanwhile in the US, First Lady Melania Trump on Monday also expressed her support for a bill aimed to protect Americans from deepfake revenge pornography.

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This was part of her first solo public engagement since her husband, US President Donald Trump, returned to the White House.

The bill which was introduced by Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, would require social media platforms as well as websites to have procedures in place to quickly remove non-consensual intimate imagery, which includes AI-generated pornography, upon notification from a victim, news agency AFP reported.

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