As of 2 August 2022, Visa had not responded publicly to the allegations about facilitating child trafficking on MindGeek/PornHub sites.

The claim concerns the allegations that Visa facilitated child trafficking or exploitation on MindGeek/Pornhub sites, as revived by the late-July 2022 court ruling in the Fleites v. MindGeek case. TRUE: Visa made no public statement on those allegations or the ruling between the ruling and 2 August 2022, and had not substantively addressed the underlying allegations earlier. MOSTLY TRUE: Visa made no public response to the July 2022 ruling by 2 August 2022, but had publicly addressed related MindGeek allegations earlier (for example its December 2020 statements). MOSTLY FALSE: Visa had made only a brief or indirect public comment on the ruling by 2 August 2022. FALSE: a dated statement shows that Visa had publicly responded to the ruling or allegations by 2 August 2022. A Visa response after 2 August does not affect the verdict.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 California judge rules Visa must face claim it profited from Pornhub video of child Mercury News (Bloomberg story by Jenny Surane) · 1 August 2022

   ““Visa condemns sex trafficking, sexual exploitation, and child sexual abuse materials as repugnant to our values and purpose as a company,” the San Francisco-based firm said in an emailed statement. “This pre-trial ruling is disappointing and mischaracterizes Visa’s role and its policies and practices. Visa will not tolerate the use of our network for illegal activity.””

2. E2 Pornhub: Judge rules Visa can be sued in abuse claim BBC News · 2 August 2022

   “A spokesperson for Visa told the BBC that it condemned sex trafficking, sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse material.”

3. E3 FLEITES v. MINDGEEK (2022) | FindLaw FindLaw (opinion of the U.S. District Court, C.D. California) · 29 July 2022

   “It was not until December 2020 when the New York Times published a report titled “The Children of Pornhub”—wherein the author explained MindGeek's child porn problem—that Visa took temporary action, at which point Visa suspended business with MindGeek pending ‘investigations’ into the allegations in the New York Times article.”

A Bloomberg report dated 1 August 2022 (E1) quotes an emailed Visa statement on the ruling. In it, Visa calls the pre-trial ruling disappointing, says it mischaracterizes Visa's role and condemns child sexual abuse material. The BBC reported on 2 August 2022 that a Visa spokesperson gave it a similar statement (E2). The court opinion also notes that Visa suspended business with MindGeek in December 2020 (E3). These dated statements show Visa had responded publicly by 2 August 2022, so the claim resolves false.