Remember, images remain online FOREVER.

A California district judge has ruled that payment giant Visa must remain a defendant in a child pornography lawsuit against MindGeek, the owner of multiple porn websites, including Pornhub.

The case against MindGeek and Visa is brought by Serena Fleites, who was 13-years-old in 2014 when an explicit video of her first appeared on PornHub.com. Fleites’ boyfriend at the time had taken the video and posted it without her consent. MindGeek distributed the video among various websites it owned, earning revenue from advertisements appearing alongside it. Visa is at the center of website transactions, processing payments between advertisers and MindGeek. Fleites alleges that Visa and its agent banks continued to process transactions connected with child pornography despite being aware of the illegal content on MindGeek websites.

Visa’s motion to dismiss hinges upon the argument that Fleites’ injuries are entirely dependent upon the actions of separate parties like MindGeek or her childhood boyfriend. However, the court pointed out that Fleites’ case centers the monetization of illegal videos posted to MindGeek sites. If what Fleites alleges is true, then Visa knowingly took part in the monetization of her abuse.

“That is where Visa enters the picture in full view, unobscured by the third parties that it attempts to place between itself and Plaintiff,” Judge Cormac J. Carney wrote in a decision filed on Friday, July 29. “The emotional trauma that Plaintiff suffered flows directly from MindGeek’s monetization of her videos and the steps that MindGeek took to maximize that monetization.”

In Visa’s motion to dismiss, the company argues that it has no authority to control or edit conduct on MindGeek sites. This argument is undermined by the fact that it has successfully intervened in previous MindGeek operations. After a New York Times article published in 2020 outlined the scope of Pornhub’s child-pornography operations, Visa and Mastercard MA -0.8% suspended business with Pornhub. Shortly after, Pornhub removed 10 million unverified videos from its site, over 80% of its content. Months later, Visa restored services for paid premium subscriptions and advertising on other MindGeek sites, according to the lawsuit. In his refusal to dismiss the case against the payment processor, Carney writes, “Visa quite literally did force MindGeek to operate differently, and markedly so, at least for a time.”

Read more here. 

Dating violence is more common than you may think, especially among teens and young adults: 1 in 3 U.S. teens will experience physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from someone they’re in a relationship with before becoming adults. And nearly half (43%) of U.S. college women report experiencing violent or abusive dating behaviors.

Each February, young adults and their loved ones nationwide raise awareness about teen dating violence through Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month (TDVAM). This annual, month-long effort focuses on advocacy and education to stop dating abuse before it starts.

We’re excited to announce the 2024 theme for TDVAM is “Love Like That.” Selected by the love is respect Youth Council, “Love Like That,” illuminates what “that” means regarding healthy and unhealthy relationships. We know that love is more than a feeling; no matter how you define it, it’s essential to ensure you’re on the same page with your partner about the definitions and boundaries of your relationship. Teens and young adults express their love for one another in many ways, which differ from person to person or community. All expressions of love are valid. However, the essential aspect of “Love Like That” calls on us all to create a world of positive actions to express and show healthy love in various ways.

To request 2024 materials or for any other questions about TDVAM reach out to [email protected].

Read more here.    

TikTok influencers that target kids with high-end skincare products has led to the trending of the term “Sephora Baby.”

Tweens are flocking to Sephora, making it a popular after-school spot.

Sephora employees note a shift from well-behaved young shoppers to a disruptive “free-for-all,” attributing the issue to parenting and social media influence.

Huff Post: The ‘Sephora Baby’ Craze Has Tweens Obsessed With Anti-Aging

NEW YORK, Feb 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) – It’s been a big week for Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tabboss Mark Zuckerberg. On Wednesday, he testified in a congressional committee hearing on the sexual exploitation of children on social-media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. The next day, he announced on a quarterly earnings call that the company would pay its first-ever dividend to shareholders. Excitement around artificial intelligence and a rebound in online advertising might be helping Meta’s stock extend last year’s 100%-plus rise. But tension with lawmakers suggests investors are underestimating bigger risks to come if Meta can’t prove its products are safe.

4 takeaways from a heated hearing with Tech CEOs – January 31, 2024

Senators grilled the CEOs of Meta, TikTok, Snap, Discord and X Wednesday in a heated hearing about harm posed to teens and kids online.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew faced most of the pressure from the panel, which focused primarily on the ways teens and children can experience harm through Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

But each CEO faced questions about the policies they have in place to mitigate the risks of online sexual exploitation, as well as the spread of harmful content that promotes suicide, self-harm and eating disorders over the roughly four and a half hours of questioning.

The packed hearing room was filled with parent and survivor advocates who held up photos of victims and put pressure not just on the companies, but also on the senators to add regulation that would hold the companies accountable.

Read more here. 

As Big Tech CEOs will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on their failure to protect kids online. Accountable Tech, Design It For Us, Fairplay, ParentsTogether Action, Tech Oversight Project, and our allies will host a rally on Capitol Hill to elevate the lived experiences and real stories of young people harmed by Big Tech’s online platforms and social media. Together, we will ring the alarm around Big Tech’s failure to protect kids online and call for Congress to act.

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing will feature Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter/X CEO Linda Yaccarino, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, and Discord CEO Jason Citron. RSVP to hold these Big Tech CEOs accountable and protect young people online!

Due to the nature of the rally happening after the hearing, the timing of the event may change. Please look to the email you used when submitting your RSVP to stay up to date on any adjusted timings.

Location: U.S. Capitol Building, Corner of Independence Ave SE and First Ave. Please look to the diagram above for precise location.

Learn more here.

For the first time ever, on January 31, five Big Tech CEOs from Meta, X, Snap, TikTok and Discord are being called to testify on their failures to protect children online. Pressure has been mounting especially over the last year as the Senate Judiciary Committee has introduced several bipartisan bills to help stop the exploitation of kids online.

Child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, is any content that depicts sexually explicit activities involving a child. This devastating crime has severe and lifelong consequences for survivors, and the online sharing of this material traumatizes victims long after the abuse has ended. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an exponential increase in online sexual exploitation and abuse of children (known as OSEAC). To give a scale of this epidemic, in 2019, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) received 16.9 million reports of CSAM to their CyberTipline. In 2022, that number nearly doubled, to over 32 million reports, marking the highest number of reports ever received in one year.

Read more here.