Justice Defense Fund
Type of site | Private |
|---|---|
| Website | |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | August 27, 2021 |
| Current status | Active |
The Justice Defense Fund (JDF) is a United States 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in Colorado in 2020[1] by anti-trafficking activist and author Laila Mickelwait,[2] who has been combatting the injustice of human trafficking since 2006.[3][4] The organization describes itself as "non-partisan and non-religious", and its stated mission is to "empower survivors of tech-facilitated sex trafficking, child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and image-based sexual abuse" through strategic litigation support, policy advocacy, and public pressure campaigns aimed at corporate and institutional accountability.[5]
JDF is widely recognized for spearheading the Traffickinghub movement[3], a global initiative launched in 2020 to call for the shutdown of Pornhub (owned by Aylo, formerly MindGeek) and to hold its executives accountable for facilitating and profiting from non-consensual[6] and illegal content[7][8] including child sexual abuse[9][10] and sex trafficking.[11][12][13][14] The movement’s petition attracted over two million signatures from individuals in more than 190 countries.[15]
In December 2020, amid mounting public pressure, investigative media reports, and payment processor boycotts by Visa, Mastercard, and Discover[16], Pornhub announced the removal of over 10 million videos and 30 million images—equivalent to approximately 80% of its content library, which then comprised around 56 million pieces.[17][18][19] The Financial Times referred to this as “probably the biggest takedown of content in internet history.”[20] Content reductions continued through sustained pressure between 2021 and 2024. Based on comparative analysis of Internet Archive Wayback Machine data from December, 2020[21] and disclosures from Aylo in March 2024[22], Pornhub reportedly removed an additional 9% of its remaining content, resulting in a library reduced to approximately 5.2 million pieces of content. Mickelwait confirmed in interviews that 91% of the original content was eventually taken down [23][24].
In addition to supporting legal action on behalf of victims of online sexual exploitation, the Justice Defense Fund advocates for policy reforms aimed at preventing criminal abuse. This includes support for mandatory third-party age and consent verification requirements for platforms that host user-generated adult content. The organization has backed legislative and regulatory initiatives in jurisdictions including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Germany. The work of JDF has been covered by major media outlets such as The New York Times, USA TODAY, The Sunday Times, Business Insider, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, among others.[25]
References
- ↑ "Justice Defense Fund" IRS 990, ProPublica,
- ↑ "Justice Defense Fund", GuideStar, https://www.guidestar.org/profile/85-1451255
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Agnew, Megan (2024-07-20). "'Torture made them money': one mum's mission to shut Pornhub". The Times.
- ↑ "Laila Mickelwait", Penguin Random House
- ↑ justicedefensefund.org
- ↑ Jim Bronskill (2024-02-29). "Pornhub operator broke privacy law by failing to ensure valid consent, watchdog finds". Toronto Star. The Canadian Press.
- ↑ Kristof, Nicholas (2020-12-04). "Opinion | The Children of Pornhub". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331
- ↑ Kolhatkar, Sheelah (2022-06-13). "The Fight to Hold Pornhub Accountable". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X
- ↑ Koplowitz, Howard (2023-12-20). "Judge certifies Alabama child sex abuse victim's class action lawsuit against Pornhub". al.
- ↑ Kristof, Nicholas (2025-05-10). "Opinion | These Internal Documents Show Why We Shouldn't Trust Porn Companies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331
- ↑ "Pornhub Parent Company Admits to Receiving Proceeds of Sex Trafficking and Agrees to Three-Year Monitor". Eastern District of New York, United States Department of Justice. 2023-12-21
- ↑ Jacques, Ingrid. "She took on world's largest porn site for profiting off child abuse. She's winning". USA Today.
- ↑ Mickelwait, Laila (2024-08-23). "How I forced Pornhub to take down child abuse videos". The Times.
- ↑ Mickelwait, Laila. "Pornhub Is Still a Crime Scene, Even After Its Rebrand | Opinion" (07-22-2024) Newsweek
- ↑ Elvish, Emily (2020-10-6) "Over two million people have petitioned to have PornHub shut down". Happy Mag
- ↑ Goodwin, Jazmin (2020-12-14). "Mastercard, Visa and Discover cut ties with Pornhub following allegations of child abuse | CNN Business". CNN.
- ↑ Paul, Kari (2020-12-14). "Pornhub removes millions of videos after investigation finds child abuse content". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077
- ↑ Mickelwait, Laila (2024). Takedown: inside the fight to shut down pornhub for child abuse, rape, and sex trafficking. New York: Thesis. ISBN 978-0-593-54202-6
- ↑ Valinsky, Jordan (2020-12-15). "Pornhub removes a majority of its videos after investigation reveals child abuse" | CNN Business". CNN
- ↑ Barker, Alex; Nilsson, Patricia (2022-06-24). "Inside the secret, often bizarre world that decides what porn you see". Financial Times
- ↑ Internet Archive from December 3, 2020
- ↑ "Statement by Ethical Capital Partners and Aylo - ECP and Aylo reflect on past year". (03-14-2024) Aylo.com
- ↑ "Laila Mickelwait | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #559" (02-03-2025)
- ↑ "1143: Laila Mickelwait | Exposing Pornhub’s Dark Trafficking Empire". (04-21-2025) The Jordan Harbinger Show
- ↑ http://www.justicedefensefund.org
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