Senator Lankford condemns Pornhub for exploiting minors in forceful letter

Sen. James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, sent a forceful letter to Solomon Friedman, a partner and vice president of compliance at Ethical Capital Partners, the private-equity firm that acquired MindGeek and renamed it Aylo. Lankford claimed Pornhub “preys on children,” criticizing the site’s July 28 communication to state officials that framed age-verification rules as ineffective and privacy-threatening. He highlighted research from the American Psychological Association showing boys first encounter pornography at an average age of 13.37, with some as young as five, and argued that verification laws are a vital safeguard.

The senator referenced the Supreme Court’s ruling in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, which upheld state-level age-verification requirements, and urged both state and federal legislators to hold platforms like Pornhub accountable. One outlet sought comment from Friedman and Pornhub but received none.