SALT LAKE CITY — The Federal Trade Commission and the state of Utah on Wednesday settled a complaint against Aylo, requiring the company to pay a $5 million penalty and implement measures to prevent illegal content from appearing on its sites.
The stipulated order, filed with the United States District Court for the District of Utah by the FTC and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection, claims that Aylo “participated in deceptive and unfair acts or practices” by misrepresenting the extent to which it guards against the posting of CSAM and nonconsensual material on its sites.
However, the order references MindGeek policies and practices in effect prior to the company’s 2023 acquisition by Ethical Capital Partners, which renamed it Aylo and embarked on a campaign of transparency.
An Aylo spokesperson told XBIZ, “All of the FTC's complaints stem from 2020 or earlier, and obviously since that era, Aylo has implemented trust and safety measures that, according to third-party data and analyses, place us among the safest platforms on the internet.”
In addition, while an FTC statement trumpeting the settlement claims that Aylo will be “required to take multiple actions to address the deceptive and unfair conduct outlined in the complaint,” the actual measures enumerated — such as verifying the ages of uploaders and performers, verifying performer consent and enabling users to report and flag illegal content — largely appear to be already in effect at Aylo.
“The resolution reached involved enhancements to existing measures but did not introduce any new substantive requirements that were not either already in place or in progress,” Aylo confirmed in a statement.
In its statement, the FTC alleges that Aylo “deceived users by doing little to block tens of thousands of videos and photos featuring child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and nonconsensual material (NCM) despite claiming that this content was ‘strictly prohibited.’”
The order states that Aylo neither admits nor denies the allegations in the complaint, but agrees to pay the financial penalty and institute the required measures.
“This settlement resolves the matter with no admission of wrongdoing while reaffirming Aylo’s commitment to the highest standards of platform safety and compliance,” the company stated. “Aylo maintains a zero-tolerance policy for illegal content, and this agreement underscores our dedication to upholding high standards of trust and safety in the industry.”
