FTC and Utah file federal complaint and proposed consent order against Aylo Group over CSAM and nonconsensual material

Margaret Willie Bussey, executive director of the Utah Department of Commerce, announced that the Federal Trade Commission and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection filed a civil complaint and proposed consent order in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah against Aylo Group Limited and affiliated websites, including Pornhub and RedTube.

The proposed order, the agencies said, would require Aylo to remove previously uploaded videos unless the company verifies that every person depicted is an adult who provided written consent, implement programs to prevent publication of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and nonconsensual material (NSM), establish systems for responding to reports, and put in place a comprehensive privacy and information‑security program. The settlement would require an immediate payment of $5,000,000 to the State of Utah and a suspended additional $10,000,000 if Aylo violates the terms, creating potential penalties totaling $15,000,000, officials said.

"Aylo owns and operates some of the largest and most visited websites in the world, including Pornhub, RedTube," Bussey said, and "they openly, repeatedly, and severely violated Utah's consumer protection laws for years by allowing the unconscionable distribution" of CSAM and NSM. Bussey said the $5,000,000 payment will go into a consumer protection education fund and that state officials will consult with the governor's office and relevant agencies, such as health and human services, on how to use the funds to protect and treat children harmed by such material.

Melissa Holyoke, identified at the news conference as an FTC commissioner and Utah's former solicitor general, said the complaint alleges nine separate violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Utah Consumer Sales Practice Act tied to unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the operation of Aylo sites. "The conduct we described in the complaint is truly horrific," she said, adding the agencies alleged Aylo companies profited for years from distributing tens of thousands of videos and photos that contain CSAM and nonconsensual content while misrepresenting the effectiveness of their safety measures.

Holyoke said the proposed order would also require Aylo to post notice on its sites about the FTC’s and Utah’s complaint and order, and to implement a system to respond to reports that uploaded content includes CSAM or nonconsensual material. "Those measures require the Aylo companies to immediately cease their debased behavior regarding CSAM and NSM," she said.

Utah Attorney General Derek Brown stressed that the action announced is a civil enforcement filing and not a criminal charge. Brown said the order requires Aylo to verify age and written consent for all current and future videos and to submit to independent third‑party audits for the next decade to ensure compliance. "They will also remove any and all child sexual abuse material and nonconsensual material from their platforms," Brown said, adding that failure to comply would expose Aylo to the suspended judgment and further legal remedies.

Brown framed the filing as part of coordinated efforts to protect children online: "Utah stands ready to protect our children from exploitation wherever that exploitation takes place," he said, noting his office works with about 90 law‑enforcement agencies through the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force on related prosecutions.

At a question‑and‑answer session, officials said the complaint alleges the distribution of CSAM and NSM dates back to at least 2012 and that, while negotiations led to some removals, tens of thousands of items remained available. Presenters clarified that the injunctive requirements in the proposed order apply nationwide to Aylo‑operated sites but that the monetary payment goes to the State of Utah. Bussey said the state will consult with other agencies to determine how to use the funds to help victims.

Jacqueline Ford, an attorney with the FTC who joined remotely, said privacy and data‑security counts in the complaint stem from representations Aylo made about verification procedures and the handling of sensitive personal information. "Because we saw these issues as alleged in the complaint, we felt it was important to address those," Ford said, noting the order requires both stronger age/consent verification and corresponding protections for any collected data.

Officials closed the briefing after taking questions from reporters and online attendees. The proposed consent order and complaint were filed in federal court; if the court approves the settlement, the agencies said, civil monitoring and monetary remedies would follow. The agencies said they may pursue additional legal remedies if Aylo violates the court order.