Join me for a conversation with Laila Mickelwait, a fearless anti-human-trafficking activist and the author of the newly released book, Takedown: Inside the Fight to Shut Down PornHub, a gripping account of her journey to expose and dismantle what she describes as ‘not just a porn site’ but a ‘crime scene.’ Throughout our conversation, which was her very first interview just days before her book was published, Laila sat down with me to share how her years of advocacy led her to uncover the disturbing practices of PornHub and its parent company, Mindgeek and how these ‘ubiquitous sex crimes remained hidden in plain sight for over a decade.’ Together, we’ll dive into the stories of victims and whistleblowers, the shocking lack of moderation on the site itself, illegal and non-consensual content, and how PornHub harvests user data.

Laila's story is not just about exposing sex crimes and systemic failures but also about the incredibly transformative power of grassroots movements, strategic litigation, and public pressure. She shares practical steps on how you can get involved and support the ongoing fight to make the internet safer for future generations.

This issue goes beyond politics and ideologies, attracting ardent support even from within the adult film industry. As Laila puts it in her book, ‘This fight for justice isn’t just about a website and pixels on a screen. It is about real, living, breathing, feeling human beings—people who have been severely harmed by those who abused them, and by the men running this website that is immortalizing their trauma.'

TIME STAMPS:

★ Intro + Takedown book trailer: 00:00 – 07:24

★ Interview with Laila Mickelwait: 07:24 – 01:23:25

RESOURCES:

★ Order your copy of the book at https://takedownbook.com/

★ Connect with Laila at https://lailamickelwait.com/

★ Click here to sign the Traffickinghub petition [over 2.3m signatures as of July 2024]

★ Click here to join Team Takedown to donate to the Justice Defense Fund

★ Click here to read my full review of Laila’s book on my Substack

VICTIM SUPPORT: If you are a victim of online sexual exploitation and want information about possible legal assistance options fill out the form at https://justicedefensefund.org/#find-help.

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