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Their voices have amplified the call for accountability, leading to prominent brands like Heinz, Unilever, and KY Jelly pulling their ads from Pornhub and financial institutions cutting their services. At its peak, Pornhub’s parent company, MindGeek, boasted more traffic than Amazon or Netflix.

Still, it was forced to purge 10 million unverified videos virtually overnight due to public and legal pressure.

Growing Lawsuits

Despite these actions, Pornhub faces an ever-growing number of lawsuits from approximately 300 plaintiffs, who claim the site profited from videos depicting their abuse.

Plaintiff lawyers informed Business Insider that more lawsuits are in preparation, signaling that the legal troubles for Pornhub are far from over. Lawyers representing Pornhub did not respond to requests for comments regarding these allegations.

These lawsuits assert that Pornhub's owners, advertisers, credit card partners, and hedge-fund backers have collectively profited millions from the exploitation and suffering depicted in these videos. 

In a significant legal development, Pornhub's parent company, Aylo — formerly MindGeek — was mandated last year to undergo three years of federal monitoring of its content and screening processes.

 Aylo manages a network of adult sites, including Pornhub, PornhubPremium, Brazzers, YouPorn, Reality Kings, Men.com, TransAngels, and Nataku.

Despite the mounting legal challenges, Pornhub remains a popular user-generated adult entertainment platform, attracting 100 million visits daily.

One-Woman Fight to Take Down Pornhub

Laila Mickelwait, a mother of two, began her crusade against the online pornography giant in early 2020 as horror stories about its content began to surface.

Mickelwait is not only the author behind "Takedown" but also the founder of the nonprofit organization Justice Defense Fund. 

Her Traffickinghub petition, calling for an end to Pornhub's operations, has garnered an impressive 2.3 million signatures. 

"Laila is a one-woman wrecking crew, with two babies in her arms and a keyboard," said Mike Bowe, a Manhattan-based attorney representing 34 women accusing Pornhub of sex trafficking and child pornography in an ongoing federal racketeering lawsuit in California filed in 2021. 

"I've never seen someone with, so few resources make such a big impact on such an important issue," Bowe added.

Pornhub's Legal Woes Intensify

In the face of these challenges, Mickelwait is optimistic that Pornhub's spiraling legal issues — which could result in damages amounting to tens of millions of dollars — might be the decisive factor leading to its downfall.