Aylo

Aylo
Native name
9219-1568 Quebec, Inc.
Company typePrivate
Industry
PredecessorMansef - Manwin - MindGeek
FoundedJune 2004; 20 years ago (2004-06) (as Mansef)[1][2]
FoundersStephane Manos, Ouissam Youssef and Fabian Thylmann
Headquarters
Montreal, Quebec
,
Canada[3]
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsPornographic film
Production output
Pornographic film
Brands
Services
RevenueDecrease US$460 million (2021)[4]
OwnerEthical Capital Partners
Number of employees
~1400 (2016)[5]
Subsidiaries
    • Aylo USA Inc.
    • Aylo Holdings S.A.R.L.
      (Formerly; MindGeek S.A.R.L.[6])
    • Aylo Cy Holdings Ltd
    • Aylo Global Entertainment Inc.
    • Aylo Global Entertainment (Europe) Limited[7]
    • Aylo USA Incorporated
      (Formerly; MindGeek USA Incorporated)
    • Aylo Billing US Corp
      (Formerly; MG Billing US Corp)
    • Aylo Billing Ltd
    • Aylo Freesites Ltd
      Formerly; MG Freesites Ltd)
    • Aylo Premium Ltd
    • MG Freesites Ltd
    • MG Content RT Limited
    • Toqon, LLC.
Websiteaylo.com

Aylo (previously known as MindGeek) is a Canadian multinational pornographic conglomerate owned by Canadian private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners. It is primarily involved in internet pornography, operating a number of video sharing websites (including platforms such as Pornhub, RedTube, and YouPorn), and pornographic film studios such as Brazzers, Digital Playground, Men.com, Reality Kings, Sean Cody, and WhyNotBi.com, among others.[8] Aylo's headquarters are located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, but the company's corporate structure is divided among entities domiciled in a number of other countries (including tax havens such as Curaçao and Luxembourg).[9]

The company is one of the largest distributors of online pornography, to the extent that it has been accused of having a monopoly position (with 3 out of the 10 most popular online pornography sites being owned by the company).[10][11][12][13] In 2013, a spokesperson for the company stated that its properties were among the top five users of internet bandwidth in the world.[14][15]

The company has been subject to a number of lawsuits and filed litigation against its competitors. They were sued in California for hosting non-consensual pornography produced by GirlsDoPorn, which coerced women into appearing in their videos under false pretenses. In January 2021, a class action lawsuit making similar claims was launched in Montreal for anyone who had pornography photos and videos, some of which may have been taken when they were underage, shared on its websites without their consent, since 2007.[16] The lawsuit stated that the company knowingly did not "investigate or question its business partner regarding the mounting evidence of sex trafficking".[17] In February 2021, a U.S.-based civil class action lawsuit was launched against the company on behalf of child sex trafficking victims whose child sexual abuse material was uploaded to Pornhub.[18][19] On 21 December 2023, Aylo agreed to pay a fine of $1.8 million plus additional compensation to GirlsDoPorn victims, and to have an independent party assess their content moderation processes for three years.[20][21]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference The Geek-Kings of Smut page 5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Manwin Canada: A Leader in Web Design, IT, Web Development & SEO!". ca.manwin.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2014. Established in June 2008, Manwin is an international organization, with corporate offices in Europe.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Nilsson, Patricia (17 December 2020). "MindGeek: the secretive owner of Pornhub and RedTube". www.ft.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Bureau de décision et de révision" (PDF). lautorite.qc.ca (in French). Autorité des marchés financiers. 19 May 2016. p. 45. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 December 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018. Le groupe Mindgeek est une entreprise privée qui emploie approximativement 1 400 personnes à temps plein dans le monde, dont un nombre important à Montréal.
  6. ^ cite web url=https://www.justice.gov/usa/oedny/prponhub parent-company-admitsreceiving proceedsex-trafficking-and-agrees-three-year title=Eastern District of New York | Pornhub Parent Company Admits Receiving Proceeds Trafficking and Agrees to Three-Year Monitor | United States Department of Justice | date=21 December 2023
  7. ^ cite web url=https://find-and-update.company information.service.gov.uk/company/03000033 title=AYLO GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT EUROPE LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK
  8. ^ Auerbach, David (23 October 2014). "Vampire Porn". Slate. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Joho, Jess (16 December 2020). "The best alternatives to Pornhub and XVideos". Mashable. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  11. ^ Auerbach, David (23 October 2014). "There Is a Porn Monopoly, and Its Name Is MindGeek". Slate. Archived from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  12. ^ Nilsson, Patricia (17 December 2020). "MindGeek: The secretive owner of Pornhub and RedTube". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  13. ^ Bowman, Sam (28 June 2019). "Don't let the porn block give MindGeek a monopoly". Medium. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Porn company Manwin latest Internet giant to open an office in Dublin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Waterson, Jim, ed. (16 March 2019). "UK online pornography age block triggers privacy fears". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2019 – via theguardian.com.
  16. ^ Leavitt, Kieran (8 January 2021). "Pornhub owner facing proposed $600 million class-action lawsuit from Ontario woman". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  17. ^ Cole, Samantha (15 December 2020). "40 Girls Do Porn Victims Are Suing Pornhub for $1 Million Each". Vice. Archived from the original on 27 March 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  18. ^ D'Annunzio, P. J. (16 February 2021). "Philadelphia Firms Part of Team Representing Child Trafficking Victims in Class Action Against Pornhub". The Legal Intelligencer. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  19. ^ Fonrouge, Gabrielle (13 February 2021). "Pornhub, MindGeek hosted rape videos of teen sex-trafficking victims: lawsuit". The New York Post. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  20. ^ Nolan, Erin (21 December 2023). "Pornhub's Parent Company Admits to Profiting From Sex Trafficking". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  21. ^ "Pornhub's parent company settles criminal probe in case linked to San Diego-based GirlsDoPorn". The San Diego Union-Tribune. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2023.