Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne is seeking a Federal Court order to require to owner of the popular porn website, Montreal-based Aylo, to comply with Canadian privacy law.

Last year, an investigation into Aylo’s privacy practices by Dufresne’s office concluded that the company “allowed highly sensitive and intimate content to be posted online without individuals’ knowledge or permission.” The investigation was launched in response to a complain from a woman who discovered that her ex-boyfriend had posted an intimate video and other sensitive imagery to Aylo’s websites without her consent.

Now, Dufresne has called on the court to compel Aylo to to “implement clear and specific measures to ensure that meaningful consent is obtained directly from all individuals who appear in intimate images and videos that are uploaded to its websites” in accordance with Canadian privacy law.

While Dufresne acknowledges that Aylo changed “some of its privacy practices and consent verification mechanisms” in response to the investigation, he says the company’s practices still “continue to fail to ensure that meaningful consent is obtained from everyone who appears in the videos.” Dufresne added that the Federal Court has the authority to “impose binding orders” on companies like Aylo to change their practices and comply with the law.

“Non-consensual posting of intimate images can have devastating consequences for victims. To date, Aylo has not adequately addressed the significant concerns that were identified in my investigation,” said Dufresne in a media statement. “Privacy is a fundamental right, and individuals must be protected. I am turning to the Federal Court to ensure that Aylo only posts intimate videos with the direct knowledge and consent of everyone appearing in those images.”

Speaking to Reuters, Alex Kekesi, Aylo’s vice-president for brand and community, claimed the company has “been in productive dialogue with the OPC [Office of the Privacy Commissioner] since last year about the potential of a compliance agreement,” and it’s “disappointed and surprised to see them take this action” with the court. “We will respond in due course,” Kekesi concluded.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada