Earthquake at the top of MindGeek, the company that owns Pornhub. CEO Feras Antoon and chief operating officer David Tasillo resigned with immediate effect, while remaining shareholders. According to a MindGeek release, “With the company strategically positioned for long-term growth, MindGeek’s executive leadership will manage day-to-day operations on an interim basis, while the search for a replacement is ongoing.” MindGeek, which is based in Luxembourg and also owns adult film production companies, has been embroiled in heavy controversy in recent years.
The two executives’ departure followed criticism of the company’s business model and growing tensions with its owner, Austrian investor Bernd Bergmair. Luxembourg-based MindGeek has dominated the adult industry since the advent of video streaming. Revenues peaked at around $ 460 million in 2018, and profit margins have sometimes approached 50%. But it was then brought to the brink of collapse in late 2020 after its flagship site Pornhub was cut out of the Mastercard and Visa payment circuit following investigations that found illegal content on the platform. According to some allegations, which date back to last year, MindGeek violated federal laws on sex trafficking and child pornography by allowing its users to post pornographic videos with people under the age of 18. MindGeek has denied these allegations. The company is now thinking about a change of leadership considering also the fact that the last few years have been difficult for the world of adult cinema, in which MindGeek is an incredibly powerful actor.