The Predator Among Us: 5 Reasons to Expose and Fight the Porn Industry
The Predator Can Be Defeated
The porn industry doesn’t just allow predatory behavior, it is the predator. It thrives in the shadows, hunting the vulnerable, profiting off exploitation, and escaping accountability.
It’s time to track it, expose it, and bring it to justice → one mind at a time.
My Story: How the Predator Found Me
I was first exposed to porn when I was 10 years old. What seemed like an insignificant moment at the time led to severe downstream impacts on my life. It distorted my sense of identity, wreaked havoc on my mental health, and warped my sexual expectations. It shifted my perspective on people's value, conditioning me to see others through a lens of objectification rather than genuine connection.
Instead of focusing on healthy habits of fulfillment, I developed a programmed, habitual reliance on porn to medicate and escape. It became a coping mechanism rather than addressing my struggles in a productive way. The consequences of this addiction extended beyond my internal struggles, it seeped into every aspect of my life like a poison sludge, clogging up my development as a human being.
My five-year marriage ended in divorce, largely due to the unhealthy patterns that stemmed from my porn addiction. The emotional disconnect, unrealistic expectations, and inability to cultivate true intimacy all played a role in the breakdown of my relationship. On top of that, the divorce left a significant financial burden that I still feel today.
This experience was a painful wake-up call, forcing me to confront the true cost of my addiction. But my story is not unique, countless others have faced similar devastation at the hands of this predatory industry. It’s time to take a deeper look at the broader consequences and why we must take a stand.
The Predator Among Us: 5 Reasons to Expose and Fight the Porn Industry
The damage caused by the porn industry isn't just theoretical, it's real, measurable, and deeply personal. From my own life to countless others, the consequences of its predatory practices ripple through society, harming individuals, families, and communities.
Below are five undeniable reasons why we must confront this industry and put an end to its exploitation.
1. The Predator Feeds on Exploitation
Profiting from Abuse: MindGeek (owner of Pornhub) and its recent new owners, Ethical Capital Partners, have made a fortune by monetizing videos of abuse, assault, and trafficking victims.
Non-Consensual Content: Investigations have found thousands of non-consensual and underage videos uploaded to these platforms.
Survivors' Trauma: Survivors have testified about the long-lasting trauma caused by their exploitation being broadcast for profit.
2. The Predator Hides in the Shadows
Anonymous Uploads: For years, sites like Pornhub allowed anyone to upload content anonymously, making it a perfect hunting ground for traffickers and abusers.
Victims' Struggles: Many victims have discovered their abuse being shared without their knowledge or consent, only to face long legal battles to have it removed.
Lack of Verification: Despite public outcry, these platforms have consistently failed to implement robust identity verification and consent mechanisms.
3. The Predator Targets the Most Vulnerable
Child Exploitation: Reports show the U.S. is now the largest host of online child sexual abuse material.
Coercion of Minors: Child protection organizations have identified numerous cases where children were coerced or tricked into appearing in exploitative content.
Early Exposure: The ease of access to pornography by minors fuels early exposure, grooming, and desensitization to harmful content.
4. The Predator is Actively Hunting New Victims
Targeting Youth: The porn industry grooms kids by using cartoon characters and targeted ads to lure them into addiction.
Compulsive Behaviors: Studies show that pornography consumption at an early age can lead to compulsive behaviors and distorted views on relationships.
Algorithmic Traps: Many adult content sites use social media and algorithms to push extreme content, trapping users in escalating cycles of dependency.
5. The Predator Must Be Stopped
Legal Actions: Lawsuits are piling up as survivors fight back, exposing how these companies profit from human suffering.
Financial Divestment: Major financial institutions and advertisers have cut ties with exploitative porn platforms due to public pressure.
Legislative Measures: Legislative measures are being introduced worldwide to hold these corporations accountable and ensure greater protections for victims.
It's imperative that we recognize the pervasive harm inflicted by the porn industry and take collective action to dismantle its predatory practices. By raising awareness, supporting survivors, and advocating for stricter regulations, we can work towards a society that values consent, dignity, and respect for all individuals.
One key figure in this fight who has been an inspiration for me has been Laila Mickelwait.
The Takedown of Pornhub: Laila Mickelwait’s Fight for Justice
Laila Mickelwait, a leading advocate against exploitation, has played a crucial role in exposing the harms of the porn industry. As the founder of the Justice Defense Fund, she has led efforts to hold corporations accountable for their complicity in sexual abuse and human trafficking.
Her journey into this fight began with deep shock and outrage when she discovered that Pornhub was hosting and profiting from child sexual abuse, rape, and trafficking videos, often uploaded without the consent of victims. While many assumed these platforms had safeguards in place, Mickelwait's research revealed a disturbing reality. Pornhub allowed anonymous users to upload content without any verification, meaning countless victims, including minors, were being exploited for profit.
Determined to take action, Mickelwait spearheaded the Traffickinghub petition, which quickly gained momentum, gathering millions of signatures calling for the shutdown of Pornhub due to its history of hosting exploitative content. The movement not only pressured lawmakers and financial institutions but also provided survivors with a powerful platform to demand justice. Her national bestseller, Takedown: Inside the Fight to Shut Down Pornhub for Child Abuse, Rape, and Sex Trafficking, provides an in-depth look at her relentless fight to expose the industry's darkest secrets.
Her initial shock, sadness, and rage quickly transformed into action, pulling in other courageous individuals, including victims, journalists, lawmakers, and even billionaire activists, who were unwilling to stay silent. At the end of the day, porn has embedded itself into nearly every aspect of modern life, making the battle against its exploitative elements a fight that affects everyone in some way.
Collaborating to Unveil the Truth
Recognizing the power of collaboration in exposing systemic abuse, Mickelwait reached out to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof, initiating the groundbreaking 2020 New York Times exposé, The Children of Pornhub. This investigative report meticulously documented the platform’s role in hosting and profiting from non-consensual content, including videos of child sexual abuse, rape, and human trafficking.
Kristof’s article was a watershed moment that brought mainstream attention to the dark underbelly of the industry. Survivors shared their firsthand accounts, detailing how their abuse was perpetuated online, often without any means of removal. The exposé revealed Pornhub’s lax content moderation policies, showing how users could upload exploitative content with little to no verification. The platform profited off this system by generating revenue through ad views and premium subscriptions, even when the videos featured clear evidence of abuse.
The article ignited a global outcry, forcing major corporations, lawmakers, and financial institutions to take action. Within days, Visa and Mastercard launched investigations into their financial ties to Pornhub, which led to them severing payment processing services from the site. This financial crackdown severely limited Pornhub’s monetization capabilities and dealt a major blow to its business model.
Beyond financial repercussions, The Children of Pornhub pressured Pornhub’s parent company, MindGeek (now Aylo), into making drastic policy changes. Millions of unverified videos were removed, and the company implemented a requirement for verified users to upload content. However, critics argued that these measures came too late, as the damage had already been done to countless victims.
Kristof’s investigation proved that when activists and journalists unite, they can expose injustices that would otherwise remain hidden in the shadows. This collaboration didn’t just raise awareness, it forced a reckoning within the industry and demonstrated that public pressure, combined with investigative journalism, could bring about real accountability.
Mobilizing Financial Accountability
After the release of the exposé, Laila Mickelwait realized that exposure alone was not enough, financial pressure was the key to forcing real change. She recognized that the industry she was fighting against thrived on profit, and if its financial lifelines were severed, its ability to exploit would be crippled.
With this understanding, Mickelwait launched a relentless campaign hounding credit card companies, urging them to stop processing payments for websites profiting from exploitation. She directly confronted executives, exposing their role in enabling abuse.
Her persistence, coupled with the backing of billionaire investor Bill Ackman, added immense pressure on financial institutions. Ackman’s public endorsement was a turning point, prompting Visa and Mastercard to cut ties with Pornhub, a move that struck a major financial blow to the platform.
Pornhub’s business model relied heavily on ad revenue, with the vast majority of its profits coming from ad views rather than direct payments. Like YouTube, Pornhub operated on a free-to-watch model, generating income through advertising impressions, clicks, and premium subscriptions. By cutting off its ability to process credit card transactions, activists struck at its secondary revenue stream, premium memberships and paid content. But the most devastating impact came when major advertisers distanced themselves from the platform, further crippling its ability to monetize content.
These efforts sent shockwaves through the industry, demonstrating that financial accountability could be wielded as a powerful tool against exploitation.
Championing Victims' Rights
Mickelwait’s advocacy goes beyond exposure, she has been instrumental in supporting victims and ensuring their stories are heard. One of the most tragic cases she helped bring to light was that of a 12-year-old boy from Alabama who was repeatedly assaulted and filmed by his abuser, Rocky Shay Franklin. Franklin uploaded twenty-three videos of the abuse to Pornhub, where they remained online for seven months despite repeated pleas from law enforcement to remove them. During that time, the videos amassed hundreds of thousands of views, compounding the trauma of the young victim. Franklin was eventually sentenced to forty years in prison, but this case underscores the horrific negligence of the porn industry. (Read more here)
As Mickelwait's movement expanded, more victims came forward, their cases bringing to light the broader systemic issues within the adult content industry. Here are two additional heartbreaking cases that emphasize the urgency of holding such platforms accountable:
Case of "Jane Doe" (the anonymous victim of child sexual abuse videos uploaded to Pornhub)
In 2020, a woman, identified only as "Jane Doe," filed a lawsuit against MindGeek (the parent company of Pornhub) after discovering that videos of her childhood sexual abuse were uploaded to the site without her consent. The case was pivotal in the ongoing conversation around the accountability of pornography platforms in preventing the exploitation of minors and non-consensual content. The lawsuit sparked a larger legal and public reckoning for Pornhub, eventually leading to some reforms on the platform.
In 2021, a group of 34 women filed a lawsuit against Pornhub, alleging that the site profited from videos posted without their consent. These women claimed that videos, some of which were initially uploaded by ex-partners, were monetized and distributed on Pornhub without their knowledge or approval. This case highlights the ongoing issue of non-consensual content on adult platforms and the legal battles surrounding the exploitation of such material.
Advocating for ID Verification and Supreme Court Recognition
One of Mickelwait’s most recent efforts is pushing for mandatory ID verification laws for all users uploading and accessing pornographic content. This initiative aims to prevent minors from being exposed to harmful materials and stop traffickers from exploiting loopholes in content moderation.
Her work has reached the U.S. Supreme Court, where digital age verification laws are being debated. A full PDF of the legal argument presented to the Supreme Court can be accessed here.
The Predator Can Be Defeated
The time for complacency is over. This issue should ignite an outrage in us all. The porn industry does not merely allow predatory behavior it is the predator. It thrives in the shadows, hunting the vulnerable, exploiting them, and escaping accountability. We cannot continue to stand idly by while this industry wreaks havoc on lives, families, and societies.
It’s not just a matter of confronting the industry itself but facing the predator within each of us → the objectification, the dehumanization, and the mindset that allows this exploitation to persist. We must take the fight to the predator in our own hearts, minds, and actions. Every step we take to expose the industry, every time we speak up, and every person we help regain their dignity brings us closer to dismantling this dark machine.
It’s time to track the predator, expose its reach, and bring it to justice one mind at a time. Each of us has the power to make this world a better place, one where people are treated with humanity and respect, not as objects. By standing up, sharing the truth, and taking action, we create a world where the exploitation of others is no longer tolerated.
Let’s be the generation that demands accountability, that fights for the protection of the vulnerable, and that refuses to accept the degradation of human dignity. The time for change is now. Will you join the fight?
Excellent article.
Wow. Thank you for putting this together. I’m going to have to read this again when I’ve got more time.
The biggest way I think we can help? Talk about it with our buddies. Keep it in our awareness so we don’t forget who is behind it, how they use people, what this does to society.
Friends don’t let friends enjoy the suffering of others