Sen. Hawley Introduces Bipartisan Bill Holding Pornhub Accountable for Monetizing Sex Abuse
A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill on Wednesday that would allow victims to sue Pornhub following a report accusing the site of profiting off videos of sexual assault and child rape.
The Survivors of Human Trafficking Fight Back Act, sponsored by Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, would allow victims to sue porn websites that have profited off their exploitation, according to a news release.
The bill is cosponsored by Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan and Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis.
“Sites like Pornhub routinely escape responsibility for facilitating abuse, trafficking, and exploitation, making millions for themselves in the process,” Hawley said in a statement.
“Meanwhile, the victims of this abuse have little recourse against these powerful companies, who thrive on spreading depraved content. Serious criminal penalties are needed to crack down on these tech executives who think they are above the law.”
Pornhub announced changes to its safety measures on Tuesday afternoon, saying that the website had banned downloads and “made some key expansions to [its] moderation process.”
The changes came days after Pulitzer Prize-winning opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof accused Pornhub of monetizing “child rapes, revenge pornography, spy cam videos of women showering, racist and misogynist content, and footage of women being asphyxiated in plastic bags” in a New York Times Op-Ed.
Pornhub has been listed as one of the world’s most popular websites, with 3.5 billion visits a month, according to Kristof.
Kristof’s story sparked backlash against Pornhub, prompting lawmakers like Republican Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse to call for a federal investigation into the pornography website.
Major credit card companies also began reviewing their relationship with Pornhub.
Pornhub did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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A version of this article appeared on the Daily Caller News Foundation website.
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