International women's rights advocates call on Canada to hold Pornhub to account

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MONTREAL — International women's rights advocates are calling on Canada to apply existing laws to hold tech giants like Pornhub to account in stopping the violence and exploitation of women.

In a news conference with the NDP today, advocates say it's necessary for the federal government to act in halting human rights violations committed by sites like Pornhub against women not just in Canada but around the world.

Charlie Angus, NDP critic for ethics, is urging the Liberal government to make Pornhub and other platforms follow legal obligations under child pornography laws and laws against posting non-consensual sexual abuse.

Angus says over 600 women's organizations and survivors of sexual abuse reached out following the Pornhub study done by the privacy and ethics committee, which will be reported to Parliament this week.

Vaishnavi Sundar of the Women's Human Rights Campaign India says Pornhub's message is that abductions, rapes and torture of vulnerable women, especially in countries in the global south, can be considered a "fun sexual experience for men everywhere."

MindGeek, the Montreal-based parent company of Pornhub, did not immediately respond to a request for comment but has previously denied all accusations of wrongdoing.

The company has said it is a global leader in preventing distribution of exploitive videos and images and has zero tolerance for non-consensual content or child sexual-abuse material.

The Liberal government announced in April it would introduce legislation to create a new regulator that will ensure online platforms remove harmful content, including depictions of children and intimate images that are shared without consent.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2021.