The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Philippe Dufresne, recently announced that Montreal-based adult entertainment company, Aylo, has violated Canada’s privacy laws. The company permitted videos to be uploaded to Pornhub and other Aylo-owned firms without the consent or knowledge of the individuals involved.
Upon completion of his investigation, Commissioner Dufresne determined that while Aylo attempted an initial removal of the unauthorized videos, the company did not, in fact, fulfill its legal obligation to secure explicit consent from every person depicted in the video. He concluded that Aylo’s previous consent model was not a “reasonable effort” to procure legitimate and genuine consent.
The Commissioner’s report on Aylo’s privacy violations comprised follow-up recommendations, which included eradicating all content lacking legitimate consent and halting users from disseminating intimate videos until new guidelines, in compliance with Canada’s privacy laws, have been implemented.
Dufresne referenced the newly introduced Online Harms Bill in his report, stating that the incident with Aylo was an example of “image-abuse”, now considered abusive under the Bill. Furthermore, he reiterated the critical nature of privacy rights and the necessity of ensuring valid consent, particularly when the data at stake is as intimate and personal as videos and images.
However, Aylo disputed the findings of the report and filed for a judicial review in May, which delayed the release of the report until recently. The company reportedly told Global News that they have already taken considerable measures to rectify the issues identified within the report.
The investigation began after a woman lodged a complaint in 2015 following her ex-boyfriend’s upload of intimate videos of her without her consent. So-called “revenge porn” has reportedly increased in Canada, with offenses rising by 58 percent in the first nine months of 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020.
“Inadequate privacy protection measures” on Aylo’s platforms have led to “devastating consequences,” Dufresne concluded in his statement, demanding immediate action from the company.