An online petition accusing Pornhub of profiting from child rape and sex trafficking videos and, at the same time, calling for the closure of the wildly popular porn site has passed more than 425,00 signatures as of Tuesday morning.
The petition rips Pornhub for making it easy to upload videos to its site, with users only needing an email address to share videos. This laissez-faire process has led to “several shocking cases of sex trafficking and child rape films” being shared on Pornhub, according to the petition.
“What all of this means is that at this very moment, there could be hundreds, if not thousands, of videos of underage sex trafficking victims on Pornhub. We already have evidence, and it is just the tip of the iceberg,” the petition reads. “It’s time to shut down super-predator site Pornhub and hold the executives behind it accountable.”
Pornhub ranks among the top 10 most visited sites in the U.S. — ahead of Ebay, Wikipedia and LinkedIn — according to SimilarWeb. The site’s owner, Mindgeek, did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
In a statement shared with The Guardian, Mindgeek said: “Pornhub has a steadfast commitment to eradicating and fighting non-consensual content and under-age material. Any suggestion otherwise is categorically and factually inaccurate.”
The online petition, which is at nearly 427,000 signatures as of midday Tuesday, is sponsored by Exodus Cry, a group based out of Kansas City, Missouri that aims to “break the cycle of commercial sexual exploitation and help those who are sold for sex,” according to its Twitter bio.
Pornhub has done a shamefully poor job of policing its site, the petition claims. The petition points to a missing 15-year-old girl who was identified after dozens of videos of her being raped were spotted on Pornhub, as well as videos of 22 women who were tricked into having sex on camera, as two clear examples Pornhub hasn’t taken content moderation seriously.
The petition adds Mindgeek CEO Feras Antoon and COO David Tassillo should “be wanted by law enforcement” because they’ve made money off of ads featured alongside illegal videos. “You see, Pornhub is complicit in the trafficking of these women and minors and probably thousands more like them.”