Passport Vn and Master Card MA.N on Thursday said it had suspended its relationship with the advertising arm of MindGeeksthe owner of the porn site Pornhubafter an alleged lawsuit raised questions about whether payment companies could facilitate child pornography.
On Friday, a federal judge in California rejected Visa’s request to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a woman alleging that the company facilitated the distribution of child pornography on Pornhub and other websites operated by parent company MindGeek.
Visa said “we strongly disagree with this decision” and that the company “does not authorize the use of our network for illegal activity.”
Both Visa and Mastercard in 2020 severed ties with Pornhub after The New York Times reported that multiple videos posted on the adult site depicted child sexual assault. Pornhub has denied the allegations.
However, Friday’s court ruling created new uncertainty about the role of TrafficJunky, MindGeek’s advertising arm, Visa said.
“Accordingly, we will be suspending TrafficJunky’s Visa acceptance privileges based on a court decision until further notice.”
Likewise, Mastercard said on Thursday that new data from the ruling “has made us aware of advertising revenue that lies beyond our purview that appears to provide Pornhub with indirect funding.”
As a result, the company is “directing financial institutions to suspend acceptance of our products at TrafficJunky.”
Representatives for MindGeek and TrafficJunky did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reported by Michelle Price)
