Editor’s note: This article mentions and discusses child sex abuse and may be disturbing to some readers.
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against popular porn sites.
The class action is currently pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
MG Freesites, LTD (Pornhub); MG Freesites II, LTD; Mindgeek S.A.R.L.; Mindgeek USA Incorporated; MG CY Holdings LTD; Mindgeek Content RT Limited; 9219-1568 Quebec, Inc. (Mindgeek); and MG Billing LTD are the companies being sued.
They own porn sites like Pornhub.com, Pornhubpremium.com, Redtube.com, Redtubepremium.com, YouPorn.com, YouPornpremium.com, Tube8.com, Mofosex.com, ExtremeTube.com, Spankwire.com, Keezmovies.com, Thumbzilla.com, and XTube.com.
“The lawsuit claims that Defendants knew or should have known that they systematically benefited from the possession and disseminated of child sex abuse material (‘CSAM’) on its pornography websites,” reads a news release from law firm Levin Papantonio.
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Who’s part of this class-action lawsuit against porn sites
According to the lawsuit, if you were under the age of 18 and appeared in a photo or video that has been made for viewing on Pornhub, Redtube, YouPorn, XTube, Tube8, and the other sites listed above from February 12, 2011, through to present day, you’re a part of the class action.
According to Levin Papantonio, no money or benefits are available now.
“The Court has not decided whether the Defendants did anything wrong, and Plaintiff and Defendants have not settled the lawsuit,” explained the law firm. “There is no guarantee money or benefits will be obtained in the future.”
It added that class members and those who may know them will be notified if money or benefits become available.
Those who are a part of the class action do not have to do anything right now if they want to keep the possibility of getting money or benefits from this lawsuit in the future.
However, if they do nothing and continue to participate in the class action, they will not be able to sue the defendants or sue them as part of any other lawsuit about the same legal claims.
The law firm says that if a class member wants to sue the companies on their own over the same legal claims or already have a lawsuit against the defendants, they must ask to be excluded from the class.
To do this, they must submit a Request for Exclusion from Class Form, which must include their name, address, telephone number, email, and signature.
Exclusion Requests must be filed online at victimimagelawsuit.com, emailed to [email protected], or mailed, postmarked by December 6, 2024, to MindGeek Class Action Administration, Exclusion Requests, P.O. Box 3715, Portland, Oregon, 97208-3715.
More information on the class-action lawsuit can be found here.