Episode 389 - Taking Down a Global Trafficking Network | Laila Mickelwait

The Crime Scene Disguised as a Website Host Justin Forman sits down with Laila Mickelwait, Co-Founder and CEO of the Justice Defense Fund, for a conversation that traces how one late-night test upload exposed a multi-billion-dollar corporation built on abuse — and how she built a movement to take it down. In 2020, Laila Mickelwait uploaded a test video to P*rnhub just to see what it would take. All it required was an email address. No age verification. No consent verification. No ID. What she uncovered next — a corporate empire worth billions, a website ranked fifth-most-trafficked in the world, and a system that allowed rape and child sexual abuse material to be monetized at scale — set her on a five-year fight that would eventually pull in Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, billionaire investors, and the CEOs of Visa and MasterCard. Key Topics: How one test upload revealed P*rnhub's complete lack of age and consent verification The corporate structure behind P*rnhub — MindGeek, hidden ownership, and a $362 million hedge fund loan Serena's story: the "immortalization of trauma" and the human cost of self-generated CSAM The strategy shift that actually moved the needle: going after Visa, MasterCard, and Discover How a Nick Kristof article and a billionaire's outrage collided to force real corporate change The Justice Defense Fund's two-part model: public pressure and strategic civil litigation Why 2.3 million petition signatures — and a single share on social media — actually matter This conversation is a case study in what it looks like to take a problem the size of a global industry and find the leverage point that actually moves it. For any entrepreneur who has ever felt paralyzed by the size of a problem worth solving, Laila's story is a blueprint for turning conviction into strategy — and strategy into change. Watch the full episode on YouTube or continue to stream audio on your favorite podcast platform.