Visa is a prominent payment platform. It processes over $6.4 trillion in transactions annually in the U.S. alone, over double its closest competitor, and has the largest share of both credit cards issued and credit card balances.(1) Unfortunately, a significant number of its transactions involve industries posing elevated risks of exploitation. The growing use of sexually explicit deepfake content (including minors and celebrities) has sparked widespread public outrage(2) and increased regulatory scrutiny(3) — especially as this exploitative material is often monetized through payment companies like Visa. While the company notes its prohibition(4) on products being used to purchase depictions of nonconsensual sexual activity, ‘hidden link’ services still allow users to purchase AI-generated pornography using(5) Visa’s products.
This is more than a moral point — it’s a significant liability for the company. Visa is one of the most valuable brands on earth, estimated(6) at over $160 billion. The higher the brand value of a company, the more vulnerable it is to public scandal. Visa has faced multiple lawsuits(7) & scrutiny(8) for its role in facilitating online sexual exploitation. Lawsuits surrounding online proliferation of CSAM threaten billion-dollar-damages at companies like Apple — further scandals surrounding this issue pose a significant threat to Visa’s continued high brand value. Shareholders are right to ask Visa to address the obvious contingent liability/brand damage caused by processing payments for AI-generated online pornography.
Laudably, Visa has previously taken(9) mitigatory steps in related areas, including suspending ties with Pornhub over similar concerns. Both shareholders and management have a clear interest in ensuring Visa’s payment systems aren’t used in ways that violate U.S. laws on AI-generated pornography, such as the bipartisan-backed Take It Down Act(10) (April 2025), or contradict Visa’s own commitments against nonconsensual sexual content.
By demonstrating responsible risk management in this area to shareholders, Visa is protecting its brand value and therefore its duty to shareholders. Responding to the rise of artificial intelligence means grappling with the threat of child sex abuse material (CSAM) and protecting the most vulnerable. Visa’s own commitments to human rights,(11) including its commitment to “condemn all forms of sexual abuse,”(12) are not at odds with the company’s success. Nor is it at odds with Visa’s fiduciary duty to ensure its products aren’t used to expose innocent people to the worst of the online world.