Sexual Exploitation and Image Abuse: What Survivors Can Actually Claim
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Federal law sets a minimum of $150,000 in damages for survivors of child exploitation and puts no time limit on filing. A $120 million platform settlement was filed in August 2026, and California reopened its filing window through 2027. Here is what exists, plainly.
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Four Federal Laws That Matter
Survivors often assume nothing can be done, particularly when years have passed or when the material is still online. In fact several federal statutes create civil claims, and they work differently from one another.
18 U.S.C. § 2255, known as Masha's Law, lets someone who was a minor when victimised by certain federal offences sue for damages. It sets liquidated damages of $150,000 as a minimum — you may claim actual damages instead if they are higher — plus attorney fees, and punitive damages are available. It has no statute of limitations.
18 U.S.C. § 1595, the trafficking civil remedy, allows claims not only against the perpetrator but against those who knowingly benefited from a venture they knew or should have known was trafficking. That beneficiary theory is the basis of most platform and hotel litigation. The limitation period is ten years, or ten years from the survivor's eighteenth birthday.
15 U.S.C. § 6851 creates a federal civil claim for disclosure of intimate images without consent, with a choice between actual damages and a flat $150,000, plus injunctive relief. It applies to images disclosed on or after October 1, 2022.
Case Details
The $120 million settlement resolves two certified class actions together: Jane Doe v. MindGeek USA Inc., et al., No. 8:21-cv-00338-WLH-ADS (C.D. Cal.), and Jane Doe #1 v. MG Freesites, Ltd, d/b/a “Pornhub”, et al., No. 7:21-cv-00220-RDP (N.D. Ala.). Judge Wesley L. Hsu is presiding over the settlement for both. It is not Fleites v. MindGeek, the separate case naming Visa as a co-defendant, which continues on its own. Eight corporate entities signed, including MG Freesites Ltd and MindGeek S.à r.l.; the group was renamed Aylo after the cases were filed. A related matter, Doe 1 v. Twitter/X Corp., is separate: on August 1, 2025 the Ninth Circuit held Section 230 still shields most claims but revived two claims — product liability and negligence per se — over failure to report to NCMEC. Ordinary negligence was not revived.
What Is Open Right Now
The class is defined by your age when the material was made, not when it was uploaded. It covers everyone who was under 18 when they appeared in a video or image that was available on any of the company's sites between February 12, 2011 and December 6, 2024. In the settlement's own words, eligibility “depends on the Class Member's age when the video or image was created, not on their age when it was later made available for viewing.” Thirteen sites are named, among them Pornhub, RedTube, YouPorn, Tube8, XTube and Spankwire. There is no new opt-out window.
Payments would be equal, not graded. The plan of allocation distributes the fund per capita among qualified claimants — the same amount each, regardless of circumstances — paid out over as many as seven instalments as the company pays in. $25 million was paid on July 31, 2026; six annual instalments of about $15.8 million follow. Attorney fees of up to one third, $40 million, would come out of the fund.
California reopened its window. Assembly Bill 250 created a two-year revival period from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027 for sexual abuse claims whose deadlines had already expired — and it expressly includes people who were adults when the abuse occurred. That matters here, because many people coerced in production settings were over 18 at the time and had assumed they were long out of time.
The TAKE IT DOWN Act took effect May 19, 2025, and since May 19, 2026 covered platforms must provide a notice-and-removal process with a 48-hour deadline, including for AI-generated images. Important limitation: it creates no private right of action against platforms — enforcement runs through the FTC. The private claim against whoever disclosed the images is the separate § 6851 route.
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There's no claim deadline yet. We'll email you if a settlement opens a claim period.
What Courts Have Actually Awarded
Two documented outcomes give a sense of scale, and both concern the same operation.
In January 2020, after a 99-day trial, a San Diego court awarded $13 million to 22 women who said they were deceived into filming — $9,475,831.50 compensatory and $3.3 million punitive. The court also transferred the copyrights in their own videos to them, an unusual and practically powerful remedy because it enables takedown demands.
In the related federal criminal case, a judge ordered restitution of $75,568,283.47 to more than 100 victims on February 12, 2026 — averaging about $713,000 across 106 victims, ranging from $440 to roughly $7 million.
An honest caveat belongs with those figures: an order is not a payment. We found no source confirming how much of either award has actually been collected, and restitution against an incarcerated defendant is frequently recovered only in part. The numbers show what courts consider these harms to be worth, which is not the same as what reaches a survivor's account.
Where Else Support Exists
The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative runs a 24-hour helpline on 844-878-2274 that helps with image documentation, takedown requests and referrals to attorneys, some working pro bono or at reduced rates.
One law that is not yet available: the DEFIANCE Act, which would extend the federal image claim explicitly to AI-generated forgeries and lengthen the filing window, passed the Senate in January 2026 but has not been enacted. Some sites describe it as current law. It is not.
Key Dates
- 1
January 2, 2020 — $13 million civil judgment
After a 99-day trial, 22 plaintiffs are awarded $13 million and given the copyrights to their own videos.
- 2
October 1, 2022 — federal image claim begins
15 U.S.C. § 6851 takes effect, allowing a claimant to take actual damages or a flat $150,000, whichever they choose, for non-consensual disclosure of intimate images. It applies only to disclosures from this date forward.
- 3
May 19, 2025 — TAKE IT DOWN Act signed
Criminal provisions take effect immediately. The law creates no private right of action against platforms.
- 4
January 1, 2026 — California reopens the window
AB 250 revives expired claims for two years through December 31, 2027, expressly including survivors who were adults at the time.
- 5
February 12, 2026 — $75.6 million restitution ordered
A federal judge orders restitution to 106 victims, averaging about $713,000 each.
- 6
August 14, 2026 — $120 million settlement filed for approval
Aylo, Pornhub's parent, agrees to $120 million payable in seven instalments through 2032, without admitting liability. The preliminary approval hearing is set for November 4, 2026; no claims process exists until a judge signs off.
Getting the Law Right Matters Here
Misinformation on this topic is unusually harmful, because it can convince someone with a real claim that they have none — or the reverse.
"The DEFIANCE Act lets you sue for deepfakes"
It is a bill, not law. It passed the Senate in January 2026 and has not been enacted. The existing route is § 6851, which applies to images disclosed from October 1, 2022 onward.
"TAKE IT DOWN means you can sue the platform"
It expressly does not create a private right of action. It obliges platforms to remove reported images within 48 hours, enforced by the FTC. Suing the person who disclosed the images is a different statute.
"It has been too long"
Masha's Law has no statute of limitations at all. The trafficking remedy allows ten years, measured from the survivor's 18th birthday where they were a minor. California's revival window runs through 2027 even for claims that had expired.
“victimimagelawsuit.com is the Pornhub settlement site”
It is not, and this one is easy to fall for. That site is the 2024 class-certification notice page for the Alabama case. It still reads “The Class Certification Notice was sent on September 25, 2024” and shows an exclusion deadline of December 6, 2024, and it says plainly: “There is no money available now.” It says nothing about the $120 million settlement, because the settlement site does not exist yet. Seeing an expired 2024 deadline there does not mean you have missed anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a minimum amount I can recover?
Under 18 U.S.C. § 2255, someone who was a minor when victimised by covered federal offences may recover liquidated damages of $150,000 as a minimum, or actual damages if higher, plus attorney fees. Punitive damages are also available.
How long do I have to file?
It depends which claim applies. Masha's Law has no time limit. The trafficking remedy under § 1595 allows ten years, running from the 18th birthday for those who were minors. State claims vary widely, and California has reopened expired claims through December 31, 2027.
Can I be part of the $120 million Pornhub settlement?
The class covers anyone who was under 18 when the video or image was made and whose material was available on the company's sites between February 12, 2011 and December 6, 2024. Your age when it was uploaded does not matter. But there is nothing to file yet: the settlement has not been preliminarily approved, the hearing is November 4, 2026, no administrator or website has been published, and the claims window has not opened at all — it starts at a notice date that has not been set, and then runs for 120 days. When it opens, the court-appointed administrator contacts class members — there is no list to join in advance, and any site offering you a claim form today is not one.
The material is still online. What can I do now?
Since May 19, 2026, covered platforms must remove reported non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, including AI-generated ones. The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative helpline on 844-878-2274 assists with documentation and takedown requests, which is worth doing before or alongside any legal claim.
I was over 18 at the time. Does that rule me out?
Not necessarily. Masha's Law is limited to people victimised as minors, but the trafficking remedy under § 1595 turns on force, fraud or coercion rather than age, and § 6851 covers non-consensual image disclosure regardless of age. California's revival window through 2027 expressly includes adults.
Do I have to report to the police first?
A civil claim does not require a criminal case. For state victim compensation programs, rules vary — California's board may not reject an application solely because no police report was made, and other states have exceptions for sexual offences.
Will my name be public?
Many survivors litigate anonymously as Jane or John Doe, and courts frequently permit it in cases of this kind. Whether it is granted depends on the court and the circumstances, and it is one of the first things to raise with a lawyer. In the Pornhub settlement specifically, claims go to the administrator rather than into the public court file, and the terms state that what you provide is confidential, is not given to the government, is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, and will not be used to start or support a criminal case against you over the material. The administrator's staff are described as trained in assisting survivors of sexual trauma. Do not send images or video with a claim — the settlement expressly refuses them.
Separate from this case: were you injured in the last 2 years?
Class-action payouts are fixed amounts through an administrator. A personal injury claim is a different case — and often worth far more. Free estimate, no obligation.