U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) has sent a letter to Aylo and its ownership group, Ethical Capital Partners, accusing the company of "preying on children" and having "no interest in protecting children." This letter responds to Aylo's recent communication to state and federal officials regarding age verification legislation.

Senator Lankford's Accusations and Aylo's Response

On Friday, August 7, 2026, Senator James Lankford, a religious conservative from Oklahoma, sent a two-page letter to Solomon Friedman, the Ethical Capital Partners vice president of compliance. The letter was addressed to the Montreal-headquartered Aylo and its Ottawa-based private equity firm ownership group, Ethical Capital Partners. Lankford's letter was a response to Aylo's communication sent last week to dozens of state and federal officials and lawmakers across 25 states with site-based age verification legislation.

In his letter, Lankford accused Aylo of having "no interest in protecting children." He wrote that "Pornhub’s letter suggests that tech companies should be responsible for protecting children from pornography. Lawmakers can and should hold tech companies accountable for the harm they pose to children. But that should not preclude state and federal lawmakers from holding platforms like Pornhub accountable for the harm it causes." Lankford further asserted, "Pornhub’s letter fails to say the quiet part out loud: Pornhub would lose customers if children were prohibited from viewing its content." Fox News Digital was the first outlet to receive the letter from Lankford's office.

In response to Senator Lankford's characterizations, an Aylo spokesperson stated that the firm disagrees with the claims, calling them factually inaccurate. The spokesperson said, "Senator Lankford and Pornhub completely agree—effective age verification needs to be in place to prevent children from accessing age-inappropriate content on the internet." The spokesperson added, "Unfortunately, the way the Senator proposes has been proven to be ineffective everywhere it’s been attempted, including in Oklahoma." This statement referenced that due to age verification laws in Oklahoma, most users in the state can only access Aylo's websites through virtual private networks (VPNs).

The Aylo spokesperson further explained, "Our site is one of [the] few that is currently complying with the law in Oklahoma, meaning the real risk to Oklahoma citizens of all ages lies on the hundreds of thousands of unregulated sites that remain accessible and are seeing increased traffic." Aylo also stated, "We are the only free site that requires verification from uploaders as well as proof of consent from all depicted in content on our platform." The spokesperson concluded, "The safety of our community is our top priority—this includes a zero-tolerance policy with respect to minors on our platform. We look forward to further addressing the Senator's concerns in our reply to him." Aylo has not indicated whether this reply will be made public.

Industry Group and Child Protection Efforts

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC), an adult industry trade group, issued a statement to AVN taking issue with Senator Lankford's characterization of Aylo as an organization targeting minors. Alison Boden, executive director of the FSC, stated, "No legitimate adult company is targeting minors." She added, "Aside from the multitude of moral and ethical issues, minor access is a financial and resource drain on adult businesses. Minor access drives up server and support costs, corrupts data, and provides no business value—minors are not consumers."

Boden also noted, "Adult sites have been trying to block minors for over 20 years, developing protocols and systems, like the Restricted to Adults label, to make it easy for filters and devices to block our sites. We have every reason not to want minors on our platforms, and no reason to target them." The Restricted to Adults (RTA) label is developed and managed by the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP). ASACP is also described as the largest privately-funded reporting line for child sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse material globally. Aylo utilizes the RTA label across its websites and reports to the CyberTipline program managed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Oklahoma's Legislative Landscape and Previous Concerns

Oklahoma has been a focal point for legislation concerning adult content. Oklahoma already has an age-verification law in place, requiring users to verify their age with personal information like a digital ID to view websites with a "substantial portion" (over a third) of explicit content. As a result, Pornhub is no longer available in the state.

In September 2023, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond called out Aylo for concerns over content featuring underage children. Drummond cited an instance where an Aylo employee, captured on video by an undercover journalist, discussed a "loophole" in Pornhub's moderation practices. The employee admitted that while users are required to submit a photo ID when uploading content, they are not required to show their face in the uploaded material. The employee confirmed that there is no way to confirm the person uploading the photo ID is the same person in the content, and when asked if rapists and human traffickers use this loophole to upload content of their victims to make money, the employee replied, "Of course." Drummond stated, "I’m extremely disturbed by the potential that child predators and rapists could be profiting from illegal material on Aylo’s websites. Any loophole that can allow the spread of child sexual abuse material needs to be closed immediately. Anything less" is unacceptable.

More recently, on January 21, Oklahoma Senator Dusty Deevers introduced eight bills "aimed at restoring moral sanity," including SB593, which would prohibit pornography. This bill proposes that those who produce, distribute, or possess porn in the state could face up to 10 years in prison. The legislation also heightens 10-to-30-year penalties for "organized pornography trafficking." Deevers stated that "Pornography is both degenerate material and a highly addictive drug. It ruins marriages, ruins lives, destroys innocence, warps young pe"ople.

Key Facts

  • U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) sent a letter to Aylo and Ethical Capital Partners on August 7, 2026, accusing Aylo of "preying on children."
  • Aylo's initial letter to officials advocated for age verification at the operating system or mobile device level, not site-by-site.
  • Aylo disagrees with Lankford's characterizations, stating that current site-based age verification methods are ineffective, citing Oklahoma's experience.
  • The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) stated that legitimate adult companies do not target minors, citing financial and ethical reasons.
  • Aylo utilizes the Restricted to Adults (RTA) label and reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's CyberTipline program.
  • Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond previously raised concerns about a "loophole" in Aylo's content moderation regarding photo ID verification.
  • Oklahoma Senator Dusty Deevers introduced legislation in January 2024 to criminalize pornography and impose prison sentences for its production, distribution, or possession.