Visa and MasterCard cut off payment services to PornHub

Visa and MasterCard, the world’s leading payment networks, have decided to deprive Pornhub of their services for finalizing purchases on the platform. 

Visa and MasterCard suspend payment gateways for Pornhub

Pornhub, the world’s largest pornographic entertainment platform, can no longer enjoy the payment infrastructure offered by Visa and MasterCard. 

The decision was also extended to its parent company, MindGeek, which witnessed the suspension of purchases for advertising space. 

It would appear that the lawsuit stems from a woman who decided to sue Visa on charges of “promoting” child pornography on Pornhub and other MindGeek-related platforms. 

The choice stems from a personal matter. In fact, the woman in question sued both Visa and MindGeek for sharing a sexually explicit video in which she is filmed by her boyfriend at the age of 13. 

Last Friday, the day after the investigation began, a California federal judge denied Visa’s motion to be allowed to dismiss the charges. 

From what transpires, the two payment giants, Visa and MasterCard, allegedly knowingly facilitated the dissemination of child pornography, despite knowing that MindGeek also monetized through such content. 

The position taken by Visa and MasterCard

Al Kelly, CEO and President of Visa, said he strongly disagreed with the decision made by the court:

“Visa condemns sex trafficking, sexual exploitation, and child sexual abuse. It is illegal, and Visa does not permit the use of our network for illegal activity. Our rules explicitly and unequivocally prohibit the use of our products to pay for content that depicts nonconsensual sexual behavior or child sexual abuse. We are vigilant in our efforts to deter this, and other illegal activity on our network”.

The measure was also disclosed in an official statement from the company, where they stress, precisely, that they do not tolerate the use of their network for illegal activities.

Kelly then goes on to say:

“It is Visa’s policy to follow the law of every country in which we do business. We do not make moral judgments on legal purchases made by consumers, and we respect the rightful role of lawmakers to make decisions about what is legal and what is not. 

Accordingly, Visa can be used only at MindGeek studio sites that feature adult professional actors in legal adult entertainment”.

During the suspension, users will no longer be able to use Visa cards for purchases on Pornhub and other sites that are part of the same “house”, nor on TrafficJunky, MindGeek’s advertising division.  

Separately, MasterCard is also following suit, ordering financial institutions to suspend acceptance of its products following the court ruling:

“New facts from last week’s court ruling made us aware of advertising revenue outside of our view that appears to provide Pornhub with indirect funding. This step will further enforce our December 2020 decision to terminate the use of our products on that site”.