Motherless.com
Motherless is a pornographic image and video-sharing website.[1][2][3] The site was founded in 2008 by Joshua Lange; as of 2018[update], Lange was the sole owner and employee of the company.[4][5][6][7]
In July 2011, Pink Visual filed suit against Motherless, alleging copyright infringement and unfair competition regarding age verification and record keeping requirements.[8] Motherless won the case under the safe harbor provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).[9][10]
Following the 2012 suicide of Canadian teenager Amanda Todd, the site was named in the Supreme Court of British Columbia during the 2022 trial of Dutch national Aydin Coban, who faced charges of extortion, possession and distribution of child pornography, communicating with intent to lure a child, and criminal harassment. Among other things he had uploaded topless pictures of Todd to the site.[11] He was eventually found guilty of all charges and sentenced to 13 years in prison; he was already serving an 11 year sentence in the Netherlands for similar offending.[12]
In May 2026, CNN reported that the site was part of a broader online ecosystem of pornographic content purporting to show women asleep or sedated. According to CNN, the legality of some of this material was doubtful.[1][13] Following publication, some social media users falsely claimed that CNN had reported on an "online rape academy" where more than 62 million men had been taught to drug and assault their partners. However, 62 million was the total number of hits the site had received in a single month across all categories, and the "academy" was a Telegram chat group to which a Motherless user had posted a link.[1] On May 8, 2026, CNN reported that the site, whose servers are based in the Netherlands, had been taken down by Dutch authorities after facing public pressure due to the earlier investigation, although the homepage stated the site had been taken down voluntarily.[14] The site was restored a few days later.[15]
See also
- Is Anyone Up?
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Liles, Jordan (April 16, 2026). "CNN Reported on 'Online Rape Academy,' but '62M Men' Figure Misrepresents Findings". https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/cnn-online-rape-academy/.
- ↑ Nguyen, Hoa (2014-02-18). "Dave Herman, Former WNEW Radio Personality, Indicted on Sex Charge" (in en-US). https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/2014/02/18/dave-herman-reportedly-indicted-on-sex-charge/5583991/.
- ↑ Beauge, John (August 6, 2021). "DA Drops Plans to Seek Death Penalty in Williamsport Murder-for-hire Case" (in en). https://www.pennlive.com/news/2021/08/da-drops-plans-to-seek-death-penalty-in-williamsport-murder-for-hire-case.html.
- ↑ Band, Jonathan (March 21, 2018). "Motherless Repairs Some of Mavrix Damage" (in en-US). https://project-disco.org/intellectual-property/032118motherless-repairs-mavrix-damage/.
- ↑ Bro, Sarah (April 27, 2018). "Pornography Dispute Sheds Light on DMCA Safe Harbor Defense: Ventura Content v. Motherless, Inc. and Joshua Lange" (in en). https://natlawreview.com/article/pornography-dispute-sheds-light-dmca-safe-harbor-defense-ventura-content-v.
- ↑ Simpson, Dave (March 14, 2018). "Split 9th Circ. Tosses Porn Co. Copyright Suit" (in en). https://www.law360.com/articles/1022316/split-9th-circ-tosses-porn-co-copyright-suit.
- ↑ "Ventura v Motherless: safe harbor matters" (in en-GB). May 22, 2018. https://www.dekuzu.com/en/2018/05/ventura-v-motherless-safe-harbor-matters.html.Template:Self-published source?
- ↑ Pardon, Rhett (July 21, 2011). "Pink Visual Files Suit Against Motherless.com". XBIZ. http://www.xbiz.com/news/136474?ln=legal.
- ↑ Pardon, Rhett (August 3, 2013). "Pink Visual Appeals DMCA Decision in Motherless Case" (in en). XBIZ. https://www.xbiz.com/news/166979/pink-visual-appeals-dmca-decision-in-motherless-case.
- ↑ French, Michael (October 30, 2018). "SCOTUS: Controversial DMCA 'Safe Harbor' Copyright Loophole Stays". https://avn.com/news/legal/scotus-controversial-dmca-safe-harbor-copyright-loophole-stays-165070.
- ↑ Cleugh, Janis (June 11, 2022). "Explicit Images of Amanda Todd Were Shared on Porn Site, Court Hears" (in en). https://www.townandcountrytoday.com/beyond-local/explicit-images-of-amanda-todd-were-shared-on-porn-site-court-hears-5468219.
- ↑ Little, Simon (October 14, 2022). "Judge sentences B.C. teen Amanda Todd's online tormentor to 13 years in prison". Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/9199914/amanda-todd-aydin-coban-sentence-sextortion-trial-bc/.
- ↑ Vandoorne, Saskya; Fox, Kara; Kennedy, Niamh; Stubbs, Eleanor; Chacon, Marco (March 26, 2026). "Exposing a Global 'Online Rape Academy' that is Teaching Men How to Abuse Women and Evade Detection". CNN. https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2026/03/world/expose-rape-assault-online-vis-intl/index.html.
- ↑ Fox, Kara; Vandoorne, Saskya; Kennedy, Niamh (May 8, 2026). "Porn website at center of CNN investigation into sexual abuse taken offline". CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/08/europe/porn-site-motherless-taken-down-dutch-authorities-intl. Retrieved May 8, 2026. "The porn website Motherless, which has faced international scrutiny over hosting content linked to gender-based violence and drug-facilitated sexual assault, has been taken offline by Dutch authorities following mounting pressure in the wake of a CNN investigation."
- ↑ "Adult website Motherless back online after Dutch prosecutors flag sexual abuse content". NL Times. May 20, 2026. https://nltimes.nl/2026/05/20/adult-website-motherless-back-online-dutch-prosecutors-flag-sexual-abuse-content. Retrieved June 1, 2026.
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