By Denny Jacob


Mastercard Inc. said Thursday it is directing financial institutions to suspend acceptance of its products at TrafficJunky, Pornhub parent company MindGeek's advertising arm.

The credit-card issuer said new facts from a court ruling last Friday made the company "aware of advertising revenue outside of our view that appears to provide Pornhub with indirect funding." The company said the step will enforce its December 2020 decision to terminate the use of its product on that site.

Competitor Visa Inc. on Thursday also suspended its acceptance privileges for TrafficJunky until further notice based on a recent court ruling in a case involving the company and MindGeek.

Both companies' connection to Pornhub gained attention following an article in the New York Times in December 2020. The issue was brought up again on Tuesday after billionaire investor William Ackman said on CNBC that Visa has the power to pressure Pornhub to remove child pornography from its site. The Pershing Square CEO also said he offered to help finance lawsuits philanthropically against Visa.


Write to Denny Jacob at denny.jacob@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-04-22 1347ET