The State of Utah and Federal Trade Commission targeted the owner and operator of some of the world’s most popular adult content websites over alleged distribution of child sex abuse material (CSAM) and non-consensual material (NSM).
In proposed consent order, state and federal officials allege the company, Aylo, knew it had “hundreds of thousands” of CSAM and NSM videos on its websites. FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak and Utah Attorney General Derek Brown both noted that one of Aylo’s employees described one of their own sites as a “gold mine for rape content.”
“Utah stands ready to protect our children from exploitation wherever that exploitation takes place. The rise of the internet has unfortunately led to an increasing amount of instances of child exploitation,” said Brown. “It’s no longer limited to the dark web. Predators can find it more and more on regular sites.”
Despite knowing the alleged content on its site, the complaint alleges Aylo ignored “hundreds of red flags” and deceived consumers about the removal of the videos, allowing for consumers to unknowingly engage with illegal content.
Hellbound and Down 