Pornhub is one of the web’s most-trafficked sites, beating out tech behemoths like Netflix and TikTok. It’s also been accused—often by conservative organizations—of benefiting from another kind of trafficking: that of countless women and children, subject to non-consensual sex acts filmed and uploaded to the site. This is just one reason among many that the recent acquisition of its parent company, MindGeek, by a Canadian Private Equity firm called Ethical Capital Partner—yes, you read that right—comes as a surprise.

The company’s history is a complicated one. MindGeek, which owns a suite of popular porn sites in addition to Pornhub, has long faced criticism for profiting off user data and illegally-hosted videos, dating back to its 2007 launch. Just days before news of the acquisition broke, Netflix released Money Shot, a documentary chronicling MindGeek’s global impact and the murky morality underpinning its business model—describe by some as a data-laundering operation which has upended the lives of many adult industry professionals by making user-uploaded porn widely available online.

It’s a thorny issue, particularly because Pornhub exists at the center of moral debates that span the political spectrum—often facing critique from all sides, but for different reasons. This came to a head in 2020, when a viral article raised awareness of the company’s alleged role in hosting exploitative content featuring minors—which, in turn, led anti-porn crusaders and human rights advocates alike to take aim at the company. In the wake of this scandal, Pornhub removed 80 percent of the content from its site—but not until after Visa and Mastercard revoked the use of their services to process payments, to the detriment of adult industry professionals who relied on it for income.

“‘Where others see complexity, we see opportunity,’ states Ethical Capital Partners. Along with news of the acquisition, the company shared that it intends to reposition MindGeek as a leader ‘in the fight against illegal content across the internet.’”

The morality of online porn—particularly that hosted by major tech conglomerates—is constantly debated, though issues raised by people within the industry are startlingly different from the points put forth by conservative anti-porn organizations. The #TraffickingHub campaign, for example, was launched by Exodus Cry—an organization that emerged from an evangelical ministry, the International House of Prayer—and the National Centre on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), which positions itself as a leader in the fight against sexual exploitation. In actuality, NCOSE—once called Morality in Media—is not an advocate for victims, but a religiously-motivated organization that sees all porn as abuse. As evidenced by the far-reaching impact of bills like FOSTA-SESTA, corporate accountability on the internet is a double-edged sword—and often, campaigns framed as an effort to protect vulnerable groups are simply a front for the desire to eliminate sexual content altogether.

So where does Pornhub’s new owner stand on all this?

“Where others see complexity, we see opportunity,” states Ethical Capital Partners, the Ottawa-based private equity firm which announced yesterday that it had purchased MindGeek for an unknown amount. Along with news of the acquisition, the company shared that it intends to reposition MindGeek as a leader “in the fight against illegal content across the internet.” Solomon Friedman, a lawyer and co-founding partner at ECP, says that he believes the criticism of MindGeek stemmed from a misunderstanding of how the company safeguards its content, as well as a lack of transparency from its previous shareholders. They remained shrouded in secrecy until an investigation by the Financial Times revealed the identity of its former owner: Bernd Bergmair, an ex-Goldman Sachs banker.

“As evidenced by the far-reaching impact of bills like FOSTA-SESTA, corporate accountability on the internet is a double-edged sword—and often, campaigns framed as an effort to protect vulnerable groups are simply a front for the desire to eliminate sexual content altogether.”

Ethical Capital Partners, on the other hand, is led by cannabis entrepreneur Rocco Meliambro and criminal lawyer Fady Mansour (chair and managing partner, respectively)—and according to the company, Pornhub’s previous shareholders no longer retain any form of ownership or control of MindGeek or its properties. Launched just last year, ECP describes itself as a “different kind of private equity firm”: one that strives to invest in industries that require principled, ethical leadership. Their mission to position the company as an industry leader will be supported by “ECP’s resources and broad expertise spanning regulatory, law enforcement, public engagement and finance,” according to a Thursday news briefing.

The company has not responded to requests for comment, but in a statement on the acquisition, founding partner Derek Ogden states that “the adult entertainment industry will always be the subject of significant legal and regulatory scrutiny”—and, that while their pre-close findings determine that MindGeek operates legally and ethically, “we are highly aware that mere regulatory compliance is not enough and that MindGeek must reassure, communicate and take on a more visible leadership role. We look forward to communicating the path forward for MindGeek and its holdings.”