Visa’s attempt to remove itself from the child porn lawsuit was blocked by the federal judge on Friday. A federal court concluded that Visa assisted Pornhub in “monetizing child porn” and sex trafficking. This ruling, which might have long-term repercussions for credit card corporations, was handed down.
The court ruled that there was sufficient evidence to show that the company “knowingly provided the tool used to complete the crime” of distributing child pornography. So it denied Visa’s motion to be dropped from a lawsuit brought against the porn parent company, MindGeek. The lawsuit was brought against MindGeek.
The decision was made in connection with a suit that was filed by a woman. The woman claims that Pornhub dragged its heels. That is, after she warned him it was hosting an explicit video of her when she was 13 years old. At one point, Pornhub required photographic evidence that she was the same child in the video. This decision was made in connection with that suit.
According to the victim, after a few weeks, the video with the title “13-Year Old Brunette Shows Off For the Camera” was taken down. However, it was later re-uploaded on other MindGeek sites in 2014. As a result, the video received millions of views and earned the company advertising money that was facilitated by Visa. According to the lawsuit, the illegal film was still available on the company’s websites as recently as the year 2020.
After enduring unwarranted notoriety, the plaintiff said that she descended into a dark melancholy, made an attempt on her own life, and started using heroin. According to the lawsuit, while she was still young, she started appearing in additional porn movies. This was created by an older male in order to sustain her habit.
Federal judge blocks Visa’s attempt to remove itself from the child porn lawsuit
US District Court Judge Cormac Carney noted in his decision that there was sufficient evidence. That is, to conclude that Visa participated in a criminal conspiracy with the internet pornographers. This finding was based on the judge’s conclusion that there was a connection between the two parties.
“Here is Visa, standing at and operating the valve, saying that it cannot be responsible for the water leak because someone else is using the hose,” Carney wrote.
“When MindGeek decides to monetize child porn, and Visa decides to continue to allow its payment network to be used for that goal despite knowledge of MindGeek’s monetization of child porn, it is entirely foreseeable that victims of child porn like the plaintiff will suffer the harm that the plaintiff alleges,” the ruling said.
In addition, the court in the Central District of California issued an order. This order compels MindGeek to participate in jurisdictional discovery and shed light on its murky business practices. This is because the judge characterized it as creating “an impossible game of whack-a-mole for victims.”
Also, it disproved Visa’s claim that it was an innocent third party. This is by stating that the credit card firm temporarily severed its links to Pornhub in 2020. That is, in response to claims that it hosted thousands of illicit clips before resuming those ties.
An interview with Michael Bowe
The Post provided an exclusive interview with Michael Bowe. He is the primary attorney for the plaintiff, on the verdict on Saturday night.
“The Court’s holding that our detailed complaint adequately pleads that Visa was engaged. That is, in a criminal conspiracy to monetize child porn. This means that Visa and other credit card companies are finally going to face the civil and possibly criminal consequences of this unconscionable and illegal activity.” This is according to Bowe, a partner at Brown Rudick.
The announcement came exactly one month after two executives at Pornhub quit. This is in the midst of expanding probes into alleged underage and non-consensual movies that were hosted on the site.
The Montreal-based company MindGeek, which also owns the websites Brazzers, RedTube and YouPorn, makes the claim that it has 115 million daily visitors and 3 billion daily ad impressions.
Pornhub ranked as the ninth most visited website in the United States over the previous month. This is according to data provided by Semrush, a search engine marketing company.
In 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said that it had conducted investigations. This is from around 5 million recordings that may have included child pornography.
Visa and its Services
Electronic payment cards are becoming increasingly popular, and Visa is the most widely accepted brand. There are more than one billion Visa cards in use across the world.
Visa is a brand name held by the Visa International Service Association. This is a firm that has over 20,000 member banks that are permitted to issue Visa cards under their own names. Visa cards may be used at any location that accepts Visa payments. For example, Bank of America Visa or Wells Fargo Visa.
Cards are not issued by Visa International, nor is credit extended to cardholders directly by Visa International. Instead, each member bank is responsible for the issuance of the cards and establishes its own terms of agreement with cardholders. These terms may include the annual fee that is associated with using the card, the interest rate that will be charged on outstanding credit balances and penalties for late payments.
Furthermore, it is the responsibility of member banks to reach out to merchants and request that they accept Visa cards. Member banks are also responsible for providing the required technical assistance to merchants. This is so that they can process Visa purchase transactions.
Even though the banks that issue Visa cards are in direct competition with one another for cardholders, they are all required to collaborate in order for participating businesses to be able to accept Visa cards that were issued by any of the participating banks.
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Visa International
The primary function of Visa International is to act as a communication point between cardholders and merchants. It does this by ensuring the smooth operation of a vast and round-the-clock electronic payment network, which is used for the processing of purchases.
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Additionally, it is Visa International’s responsibility to expand the brand recognition of the Visa name through various operations like marketing, sponsorship partnerships, and other endeavors. For its part, Visa generates the majority of its revenue from the fees it charges to the banks that are part of its network.
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