Mastercard, Visa halt processing payments on Pornhub

A recent New York Times article said many videos posted on the adult website depicted sexual assault of children

Mastercard and Visa on Thursday stopped processing payments on Pornhub after a New York Times article said many videos posted on the adult website depicted sexual assault of children.

Mastercard said it was permanently ending the use of its cards on the sex videos site after its investigation confirmed the presence of illegal content on the platform. Visa said it was suspending payments till an investigation was completed.

"We are instructing the financial institutions who serve MindGeek (Pornhub parent) to suspend processing of payments through the Visa network," Visa said in a statement.

Pornhub did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The New York Times article had also described some videos on the site as recordings of assaults on unconscious women and girls.

Pornhub has denied the allegation but said it had banned video downloads and was allowing only certain partner accounts to upload content.