• MindGeek, the parent company of Pornhub, has announced that it has sold the adult content website and its affiliate sites.
• The new owners are Ethical Capital Partners, which is based in Canada.
• It’s unclear at this stage what the new owners will do regarding the recent controversies that the site has been mired in.

There is a new owner of Pornhub.

This comes after the adult content website’s parent company MindGeek confirmed the sale to a Canadian private equity firm called Ethical Capital Partners (ECP), which was formed last year, according to reports.

Following the completion of the sale for a yet-to-be confirmed amount, ECP will own Pornhub, along with other sites YouPorn, Redtube, Brazzers, Men.com, Sean Cody, Trans Angels, and Nutaku.

While it remains to be seen what ECP plans for Pornhub and the other websites that were under the MindGeek banner, the equity firm was concerningly effusive in its praise of the company, which is odd considering the controversy it was mired in over the past few years.

“MindGeek is committed to quality adult entertainment made by and for consenting adults on platforms that set the standard for trust and safety, and instituting compliance measures that surpass those of other platforms on the internet. With the support of ECP, MindGeek will further its research and adoption of the latest and best available online safety protocols to ensure that it remains a world-class leader in trust and safety and its platforms are inclusive, sex positive spaces for adults,” a press release regarding the sale highlighted.

Hopefully though the new owners will be following through on some of the goals outlined for the adult content sites, many of which are struggling with many issues when it comes to online safety and fairly paying creators.

“ECP’s partners and advisors, who represent a broad range of experts and stakeholders across law enforcement, legal, regulatory, public engagement and finance, will partner with MindGeek to ensure its platforms are at the forefront of innovation, and trust and safety on the internet, and remain home to an inclusive global community of adult creators, performers, artists and users celebrating creative and sexual expression,” it explained.

“ECP believes the internet should be safe for all – with child protection, intimate image security and digital self-determination at the core of our values, and that MindGeek must play a leading role in the fight against illegal content across the internet,” the firm concluded.