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 There has been a lot of talk and worry about what has come be known just as
2257. 2257 refers to the section of United States law that requires producers of sexually explicit material [pornography] to check the identification of every
model and to keep copies of the model’s ID and model releases on file in a known location. 2257 has been around as long as the Internet, so it is nothing
new to anyone. The United States Department of Justice, headed by John Ashcroft, has not taken any action to enforce Section 2257. Not Once.
When called on the carpet before Congress to explain how his enforcement
actions were going, Ashcroft had to admit his legions of close-minded crusaders had not taken any action to enforce 2257. Instead, Ashcroft
proposed a lot of changes to the Regulations that are used to enforce 2257. It makes no sense to make changes
to a law that has never been enforced, but recall that Ashcroft was defeated by a dead man when he last ran for re
-election to the Senate. For his miserable failure John Ashcroft was awarded a higher, more dangerous office—Attorney General of the United States.
The proposed changes in the Regulations appeared to make the record-keeping requirement apply to everybody
involved in the free flow of legal adult materials—not just the actual producers. Every webmaster would have to keep
duplicate records that the producers kept in addition to recording every location and URL of every image and a copy
of every image ever displayed. It seems like Ashcroft is trying to devise a way to make it damn near impossible to
comply with the new law and then send webmasters to prison for violating it!
The good news is that these proposals are still just proposals; No Changes Have Been Made. In order for these
proposals to become law, they must first be published in the Federal Register and then they take effect 30 days
later. At the very least we will know 30 days ahead of time if any changes are going to take place. We can also
expect that any changes will be immediately challenged in court, mostly because some of the proposed “new”
requirements are old language that was actually struck down years ago but Ashcroft seems to think rules don’t
apply to him. Court challenges will literally take years to work their way through the system, and it is unlikely any
changes could be enforced while the court cases were pending. So don’t panic. Don’t dump content just because
the producer won’t give you unaltered images of the model’s personal identification documents, social security card
and mother’s maiden name. Don’t spend sleepless nights thinking 2257 agents will be pounding on your door
tomorrow. Go about your business as you have, make sure all the content you display is 2257 compliant, and enjoy being a champion of free expression.
Even though I am a lawyer, this is just my opinion and should not be considered direct legal advice. I look forward to
sharing my opinions and insights in my columns here but if you take away nothing from my articles, take away this:
the best legal defense is a proactive offense. Consult with a respected attorney who is abreast of the issues
affecting our country, world and industry, and will work with you to ensure you successful business planning and
strategy will keep you on the right side of the law! This may be the single most important business investment you ever make!
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