Podcast episode
Episode 389 – Taking Down a Global Trafficking Network | Laila Mickelwait
She tested P*rnhub’s upload system with one video of her keyboard and a rug — and found out that all it took was an email address. No age verification. No ID. No consent check. What she discovered next would take her five years, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and a billionaire investor to help take down.
Laila Mickelwait, Co-Founder and CEO of the Justice Defense Fund, joins Justin Forman to unpack how she uncovered the corporate empire behind P*rnhub, why going after credit card companies mattered more than any petition, and what it actually took to get Visa, MasterCard, and Discover to cut ties with one of the most trafficked websites in the world.
EPISODE NOTES
She tested P*rnhub’s upload system with one video of her keyboard and a rug — and found out that all it took was an email address. No age verification. No ID. No consent check. What she discovered next would take her five years, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and a billionaire investor to help take down.
Laila Mickelwait, Co-Founder and CEO of the Justice Defense Fund, joins Justin Forman to unpack how she uncovered the corporate empire behind P*rnhub, why going after credit card companies mattered more than any petition, and what it actually took to get Visa, MasterCard, and Discover to cut ties with one of the most trafficked websites in the world.
This conversation covers the corporate structure of MindGeek, the human cost behind the headlines, the strategic pivot toward litigation and public pressure, and why the fight — for Laila and for the industry at large — is far from over.
About the Human Trafficking Fund: Human trafficking is the world’s worst supply chain. Disrupting it takes rescue, recovery, prevention, and root-cause work—all at once. This fund coordinates generosity across every layer of the fight.
Learn more and give: https://solving.org/trafficking/
🔗 Learn more at https://solving.org/
💰Learn more about the SWGP Giving Funds: https://solving.org/about-funds/
Chapters:
00:00 Cold open: the day the credit cards cut ties
01:11 Why podcasting has outperformed traditional media for this message
03:36 15 years in the trenches before the world was watching
05:13 The headlines that triggered the Trafficking Hub movement
06:15 The night she tested P*rnhub’s upload system
07:19 “It was not a p*rn site. It was a crime scene.”
08:54 Understanding the size of the corporation behind P*rnhub
10:12 MindGeek, hidden owners, and a $362 million loan
11:46 Self-generated CSAM and the “immortalization of trauma”
12:45 Serena’s story: from a 13-year-old’s mistake to a lawsuit
15:39 Finding the leverage point in an overwhelming problem
16:29 What the fight against Backpage.com taught her
19:23 2.3 million petition signatures and counting
22:19 The power of collective impact over solo activism
23:53 Nick Kristof’s article and Bill Ackman’s involvement
26:17 Visa and MasterCard cut ties — then P*rnhub tried to sneak back
30:26 Finding common ground across a divided culture
32:43 The secret shareholder finally named
34:51 Where the fight against P*rnhub stands today
39:34 Inside the Justice Defense Fund’s two-part strategy
45:51 How to actually get involved — the book, the petition, Team Takedown
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Faith Driven Entrepreneur is an educational website hosted by Faith Driven Movements (501c6) and FDM Foundation (501c3) nonprofit corporations whose mission is to inspire, educate, and mobilize people to use their time, talents and other resources in the marketplace. Faith Driven Movements brings together leaders from around the world that seek to make a financial, social, environmental and spiritual impact through their business ventures. The website is intended to be an opportunity to exchange ideas for educational purposes. Faith Driven Movements is not responsible for the opinions, advice, statements, materials, presentations, data, images, videos, documentation and other information (collectively, the “Materials”) expressed or otherwise shared by guest contributors (including without limitation podcast guests, conference speakers, guest writers, participating companies and investment professionals). The Materials are for informational purposes only, and the statements, views and opinions expressed at any presentation or in any Materials are those solely of the presenter and not of Faith Driven Movements. Hosts and Guests may maintain positions in the companies and securities discussed. Further, Faith Driven Movements does not endorse or recommend any presenter, promoter, investment advisor, strategy, company or any views mentioned at any conference or in the Materials. Under no circumstances will Faith Driven Movements (or their respective trustees, directors, officers, employees, or agents) be liable for the accuracy, quality or reliability of any of the presentations or Materials, any defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of presenters, or any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages arising from any presentations or Materials. By visiting the site you agree to comply with the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Code of Conduct.
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Sign up for the very best of the podcast, videos, resources, and upcoming events once a month.
Faith Driven Entrepreneur is an educational platform hosted by Faith Driven Movements, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire, educate, and mobilize people to use their time, talents and other resources in the marketplace. Faith Driven Movements brings together leaders from around the world that seek to make a financial, social, environmental and spiritual impact through their business ventures. The website is intended to be an opportunity to exchange ideas for educational purposes. Faith Driven Movements is not responsible for the opinions, advice, statements, materials, presentations, data, images, videos, documentation and other information (collectively, the “Materials”) expressed or otherwise shared by guest contributors (including without limitation podcast guests, conference speakers, guest writers, participating companies and investment professionals). The Materials are for informational purposes only, and the statements, views and opinions expressed at any presentation or in any Materials are those solely of the presenter and not of Faith Driven Movements. Hosts and Guests may maintain positions in the companies and securities discussed. Further, Faith Driven Movements does not endorse or recommend any presenter, promoter, investment advisor, strategy, company or any views mentioned at any conference or in the Materials. Under no circumstances will Faith Driven Movements (or their respective trustees, directors, officers, employees, or agents) be liable for the accuracy, quality or reliability of any of the presentations or Materials, any defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of presenters, or any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages arising from any presentations or Materials. By visiting the site you agree to comply with the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Code of Conduct.