Dutch law enforcement has seized servers hosting the adult tube website Motherless.com in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Steenbergen as part of a criminal inquiry. The action follows investigations by CNN and Dutch media into illegal and non-consensual content on the platform.
Server Seizures and Ongoing Investigation
On July 21, 2026, Dutch authorities, including the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service and local law enforcement agencies, in conjunction with Europol, seized servers associated with Motherless.com. The raids targeted sites in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Steenbergen, according to public broadcaster NOS.
The Public Prosecution Department is investigating images of possible sexual abuse found on the site, including images of child sexual abuse and women being assaulted while drugged. The investigation encompasses both individuals who uploaded the material and the role of the site itself. As of the seizure date, no arrests have been made.
AVN previously reported that NFOrce Internet Services, a Netherlands-based web hosting company, served as the web and digital host for Motherless.com content. In May 2026, NFOrce informed Motherless.com ownership that its services were suspended due to an "abuse and compliance escalation." A statement published by NFOrce indicated that an "enhanced compliance and abuse-handling review relating to Motherless.com" was initiated following media publications and internal review. Motherless.com was shut down by the Dutch government in May 2026, though it later reappeared online via other routes.
Content Scrutiny and Media Pressure
Motherless.com has been a subject of regulatory scrutiny due to allegations of illegal and non-consensual material, as well as pirated content. Journalistic exposés by CNN and NOS intensified pressure on Dutch authorities to take legal action.
A CNN investigation referred to Motherless.com as part of a global "rape academy," documenting instances of videos featuring gender-based violence and drug-facilitated sexual assault. This included "sleep" videos where subjects were assaulted while known or believed to be under the influence of drugs. The CNN investigation, published in March 2026, found over 20,000 videos on Motherless showing women who appeared to be drugged or asleep during sexual acts. Dutch online abuse expertise bureau Offlimits reported receiving nearly 142 reports in 2026 alone concerning approximately 12,000 videos on Motherless, with 25 cases involving child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
NOS analysis found that the tag "incest" was the third most popular category on the site in a week, with over 1,000 videos accumulating 60 million views. In June 2026, NOS revealed that moderators of the site had themselves posted images of child sexual abuse, with one employee alone uploading 110,000 images.
Motherless.com, founded in 2008 by Joshua G. Lange in New York City, had tens of millions of visitors monthly. The site attracted roughly 62 million monthly visitors until its takedown in May 2026.
International Regulatory Actions and Ownership
Beyond the Netherlands, Motherless.com has faced regulatory scrutiny from other international bodies. The United Kingdom's digital regulator, Ofcom, has been pressuring the site's ownership to comply with age verification and other online safety provisions of the Online Safety Act. In 2025, Ofcom began investigating Kick Online Entertainment S.A., the website's parent company, under the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA), following complaints about the presence of child sexual abuse material. AVN reported that Motherless was fined nearly $1.1 million by Ofcom for compliance issues.
Motherless is owned by Kick Online Entertainment, an entity registered in Luxembourg. Dutch authorities are also considering other unnamed affiliated companies to Kick operating out of other countries, including Costa Rica. The website domain name was first purchased in 2005.
Previous legal cases involving Motherless include a 2011 lawsuit by Pink Visual alleging copyright infringement, which Motherless won under the safe harbor provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The site was also named in the Supreme Court of British Columbia during the 2022 trial of Dutch national Aydin Coban, who had uploaded topless pictures of Canadian teenager Amanda Todd to the site.
Key Facts
- Dutch law enforcement seized Motherless.com servers in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Steenbergen on July 21, 2026.
- The seizures are part of a criminal inquiry into possible sexual abuse images, including child sexual abuse and drugged assault videos.
- NFOrce Internet Services, a Netherlands-based web host, suspended services to Motherless.com in May 2026 due to an "abuse and compliance escalation."
- Investigations by CNN and NOS revealed thousands of videos depicting sexual abuse, including drug-facilitated assaults, on the platform.
- Motherless.com is owned by Kick Online Entertainment, registered in Luxembourg, and has faced fines from UK regulator Ofcom for compliance issues.
- No arrests have been made in connection with the server seizures as of July 21, 2026.
