New porn regulations ..... what's your opinion?

[Stinky The Clown]

Apparently, the Feds feel some need to add another layer of regulation on the porn industry. They want to have every working actor registered with at least their name and their age and every name they ever used in their careers.

They cite child protection as the reason.

Child porn and child exploitation are despicable, indefensible crimes for which there are already many laws. All should be enforced vigorously. Offenders should be made to audition for roles as snake food.

But the adult porn industry?

It seems to me we have bigger issues.

(This is being reported about hourly on MSNBC.)

[Hydra]

1. I'm cynical about this

They want us on all these lists for "National Security" and "Crime Prevention"

All I want to know is when these laws are going to start being enforced on a regular basis- all these new laws wouldn't be required if they enforced the ones on the books.

[liberaldemocrat7]

17. Why not have gun owners register first, then porn stars

Porn stars don't kill people, Gun owners with guns shooting bullets kill people.

[Hydra]

21. Save the children!

so we can f*ck them up personally!

:puke:

[The Magistrate]

2. Just The Usual 'Moral Majority' Sort Of Grouse, Sir

They know they are running out of time in power, and want to do as much mischief as possible while they still can....

"Puritanism is the nagging suspicion someone, somewhere, is having fun."

[BlooInBloo]

3. Their dicks can't be any longer than mine?

:rofl:

It's tough, having such a fragile ego. Pity me.

[truebrit71]

4. I think the Feds have more important things to worry about than Porn stars and their various names..

...:eyes:

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

5. I've known 13 year olds who looked 18+

I think this law isn't to protect obvious minors but underage teens who can pass for adults. There are already laws covering this though: every adult video I've ever seen says that the performers' age verification is on file with rzzzzzzt rzzzt rzzzt (sorry, that's as far as I ever read before I fast forward).

Ostensibly this is to protect porn performers in other countries too, and that's a good idea. But I'd need to know more about it, and like you say...bigger issues.

[Stinky The Clown]

12. As I said ... and as you pointed out ... there are already laws for that ....

The fact is, the porn industry is one of the very best at both advancing their industry and at self regulation.

No multimillion (billion?) dollar company needs to get hassled for an incident involving a minor. Similarly, no industry wants to have all its members paint with the broad brush of a scandal by a few.

I'm not expert on the porn industry, but for what I *do* know, they seem to be pretty good role models for good corporate citizenship.

(No, I'm not Pollyanna ... or Pollyanthony as the case may be.)

[endarkenment]

6. It is bullshit and treats these people like criminals.

This is a transparent attempt to blacklist everyone in the porn industry. Hopefully the legal challenge to this crap will be successful.

[tandot]

7. Maybe a black list to use for the religious right to see who engages in "indecent" behavior?

it also seems like an attempt to lump the adult film industry together with child rapists.

[TreasonousBastard]

8. They're idiots-- this won't put a dent in porn, but will...

make it difficult for the large, profitable operators. The ones who actually pay their people and deal with things like AIDS and STDs.

So the little guys and amateurs will pick up the slack while the big guys work out how to deal with this, with predictable results.

Porn has been around in every society in recorded history, and won't go away no matter what they try to do.

[booley]

45. Actually it's the smaller ones that will be hurt most of all

The ones that don't have a staff who's sole job to make sure all the i's are dotted and t's crossed, who dont' have millions to have lawyers on retainer and can't afford to drag a court case out for years or move operations out of the country.

Remember, the more paperwork there is, the more likly it is to make a clerical error.

Smaller producers simply make better targets becuase of these things. And so the DOJ can get an easy win in a court case rather then a long protracted battle and get to tell everyone about all the "criminals" they put behind bars.

[Mz Pip]

9. Unenforcable

I think I'd rather have my tax dollars going toward enforcing existing child porn laws than bothering about the adults.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[JDPriestly]

32. I'd like to see my money go to provide counseling, medical care,

and housing for children who suffer abuse, who are homeless, who commit crimes and their families. Let's put a stop to sexual abuse, but also to other kinds of abuse. Parents need to learn how to care for their children. Good parenting is not a natural thing. We aren't teaching them the most basic skills.

[FreakinDJ]

10. They register GUNs don't they?

Then why not possible AIDs victims?

Don't forget the Democrats either

Less and Less a Free Society every day

[Stinky The Clown]

13. The porn industry has addressed AIDS head on

No pun intended ..... well .... not really.

[LostinVA]

65. Actually, the porn industry does a very good job of keeping their actors healthy

[shain from kane]

11. I worry more about lead in children's toys, than lead in the pencil. n/t

[ThomWV]

14. On what day in the history of civilized man was there not porn?

This is an assault on free speech if you ask me.

[JDPriestly]

33. Have you been to Pompeii, Italy?

I must clarify. I do not personally like porn at all, but I am libertarian enough to believe that, as long as no one is being hurt by it, it is not my business what other people like. I love opera. Some find it cruel to the ears, but I want the freedom to enjoy my sounds. I don't want other people telling me what I can enjoy.

[DangerDave921]

15. amateurs

So much porn nowadays is small amateur stuff. All you need is a camera, a computer, and a couple willing participants, and whammo - you can distribute porn around the world. Why do some people believe that everything needs to be regulated?

I swear to god I sometimes wish the government would just go away for a while. Just take a break and let people live without the constant overhang of regulation, and compliance, and taxes, and speed limits, and forms to fill out. Just for a little while.

Yes I know I sound like some kook living in a cabin out in the woods somewhere.

[shain from kane]

18. I often say, "Let's give anarchy another chance." n/t

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

58. Look around Youtube, some films were made using their cell phones.

[Marr]

16. What's their real reason for this?

Are they missing out on alot of potential tax revenue...? Or is this just some sort of foot in the door to gaining greater control of the internet? Forgive me, but I can't believe their stated reason would actually get the machinery turning.

[VP505]

19. So much for

smaller Government shrunk small enough to drown in a bath tub. Can't secure the borders, don't have the ability to stop all kinds of poison shit from China being sold everywhere yet they think they can add another layer of reg on the porn industry and enforce it? On second though they probably would be better at doing that as they would be more willing to focus on porn than the other stuff.

[immoderate]

20. Hilarious...

How does registering adult film stars promote child protection?

Maybe they should just license sex!

Yeah, that's it, nobody can have sex without a license, and we just won't issue licenses to children and therefore they won't be able to have sex and they'll be protected...from sex!

Another day -- another world saved! **takes a bow**

--IMM

[BlooInBloo]

25. Ta Da!!! lol!

[immoderate]

30. Thank you very much!

--IMM :hi:

[JDPriestly]

34. They are hoping to make porn illegal and then go after everyone on the list.

[immoderate]

42. Yeah! But to be fair, they should first go after everyone who's not on the list.

Otherwise, who would put their name on the list? Those not in compliance should be punished first.

In other words, this is lame any way you slice it. I reminds me of the rarely mentioned Vietnam Draft Test. In 1967, the Pentagon decided that too many potential GIs were hiding out in college "abusing" student deferments. So they proposed a test to see who was smart enough to stay in college, and anybody below a certain score would be drafted. (Sort of, "No Inductee Left Behind.")

I remember when we got our applications from the Registrar. One of my fraternity brothers said, "Do we really want to take this test to see if we are dumb enough to go in the army?" And we ripped up the applications. Soon after, the army saw the same angle and canceled the test.

Moral: Never volunteer!

--IMM

[AlCzervik]

22. the feds will now regulate one industry? Of all the things the feds need to be

regulating pron is so far at the bottom of the list.

[bicentennial_baby]

23. Exactly!!

:applause:

[shain from kane]

27. Reminds of the penis tax that has been proposed to replace the death taxes ---

From: IRS
Re: Notice To Increase Tax (Form 1040P)
The only thing the IRS has not yet taxed is your penis. This is due to the fact that 40% of the time it is hanging unemployed, 20% of the time it is pissed off, 30% of the time it is hard up and 10% of the time it is in the hole.


On top of this, it has two dependents and both are nuts.
Accordingly, starting January 1, 2008 your penis will be taxed according to its size.
To determine your category, please consult the chart below and confirm this information on page 2, section 7, line 3 of your standard 1040 form.

*12-10 inches - - Luxury Tax......$50.00
10- 8 inches - - Pole Tax........$30.00
8- 6 inches - - Privilege Tax...$15.00
6- 4 inches - - Nuisance Tax....$ 6.00

*Males Exceeding 12 inches must file Capital Gains

Please Note: Anyone under 4 inches is eligible for a refund.

Please do not request an extension.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sincerely,

Pecker Checker
Internal Revenue Service

[blondeatlast]

59. "Porn kills people. Unregulated, unsafe mining practices don't kill people."

I keep saying I can't be dumbstruck by this country anymore--then it's next week and I'm even more dumbstruck than last week...

[backscatter712]

24. Yet more authoritarian trash.

As long as everyone participating is a consenting adult, I have no problem with porn. Sure, porn studios should be checking to make sure their actors and actresses are of legal age, but having them all registered in some federal database so some vindictive DA can start shopping for charges to slap them with is despicable.

[sniffa]

26. first i've heard of it

as Long as they don't touch my porn, i have no opinion.

[Blackhatjack]

28. I do not see the connection ... these are unlikely to be child molesters...

How short is the hop, skip and a jump from making porn stars register like sex offenders, until the government tells the rest of us to register as well --- because we are all against child porn and child exploitation.

[kenny blankenship]

29. It's authoritarian trash (seconded) The idea is to harass porn workers not protect them

the idea is to create a legal line over which a prospective porn actor must decide to cross: taking your clothes off in front of a camera now legally obliges you to register with the Federal Fucking Government of the United States of America. You are now a member of a marked group, like sex offenders and terrorist pre-suspects.

It's like having the FBI on the set.

[blogslut]

31. There is no list

This is just sensationalized supposition from the New York Post. There is no new law. The law ensuring that producers of adult content keep records of performer ages is one year shy of 20 years old. The law is part of US CODE, specifically: TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 110 > § 2257 > Record keeping requirements

This list business is a worst case scenario dreamed up by some fear monger trying to sell newpapers and get their face on the teevee. The FBI already keeps a database of adult performers and has been doing so since 1988 when the law was first enacted. They get the names by personally inspecting the records of content producers.

What is "new" are proposed changes to record keeping that are both overzealous and invasive of the privacy of the performers. I use the quotes around the word "new" because the proposed changes were made by AG John Ashcroft.

If you would like to know more about TITLE18/2257 go here: http://www.freespeechcoalition.com/FSCView.asp?action=preview&coid=137

[Auggie]

35. Don't you see? This gives them election fodder.

[kimmerspixelated]

36. This will probably get flamed,

But I think ALL internet porn should be abolished! Buy your mags, whatever, at adult shop! No problem. The law-abiders will be a little inconvenienced but what the hey-...here's why...if online porn wasn't so available and quick, it is doubtful that internet sex addiction would be so rampant, and I also believe that child molesters(ewwww!) would be less so as well! Internet sex addiction has screwed up tons of marriages.Such a horrible disease! It's really kind of sickening to find your spouse spanking his monkey every moment he is alone, rising early every day just for the occasion. It's everywhere and it's rampant. The people I know that have this problem, said it was never a problem until the mid-nineties or so! Bingo- that's about the time internet porn was rising!

[Jed Dilligan]

38. Worked so well with alcohol and drugs,

why not give it another shot, eh?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

40. Why Should A Form Of Entertainment Be Outlawed ?

Why should a form of entertainment be outlawed because a small minority abuse it...

Should we prohibit alcohol because some people become alcoholics or some people drink, drive, and kill people?

[kimmerspixelated]

41. Who's talking about outlawing it?

Just remove it from the net, where abusers don't have it so EASY! Adult shops could still be in business. It's the easiness that makes the true sickies!

[DemocratSinceBirth]

43. You Are Outlawing It

If a person is punished for viewing it online or punished for putting it online you have outlawed it...

What "sickies"?

I don't see the nexus between watching porn between consenting adults and sickness...

[endarkenment]

49. "Just remove it from the net"

Ok, for the sake of an argument: how exactly would you propose doing that without a) violating 1st amendment rights, and b) establishing a federal internet censorship system like they have in China, Saudi Arabia, or other moralistic tyrannical systems?

[Yukari Yakumo]

62. Or for that matter, actually enforce it?

A lot of the more shady organizations use off-shore servers, thus making them untouchable by the feds.

[endarkenment]

48. I'd suggest turning off the cable modem to your house.

If you are afraid of what you might find in the global commons of the internet: step away from it.

[LostinVA]

67. How will abolishing adult porn affect the number of child molestors?

I'm all for cracking down on child porn. It's illegal and it should be, but I don't think child molestors are interested in legal porn.

[B Calm]

37. We have a murderous mine owner killing his workers and

this is what the corporate owned press wants to talk about?

[WinkyDink]

57. Sex sells.

[Jed Dilligan]

39. It makes me want to make a porn

just so I can refuse to register my name.

[booley]

44. If it's "child protection" thenit makes no sense

Every producer has to keep thier own records and a model's ID either shows they are of age or it doesn't. So all this does is add lots more paperwork to prove what has already been proven, that the model was legal whenthe porn was produced.

It's at best a boon doggle. i twill do nothing to stop child porn. But it will add more things porn producers have to worry about and lets not forget, every violation of this, no matter how small, can carry prison time.

[Lurking Dem]

46. Everyone I have

ever worked with or known in the industry required a photo copy of their driver's license on file with the production company.

WTF?

[Richard Steele]

47. It's utter BS. They're setting an impossible standard, as a "gotcha" to arrest porn producers.

Dishonest, unethical, and UnAmerican. Which is to say, "Modern republican".

[johnaries]

50. Ridiculous! How will this benefit child protection?

Holier than Thou nuts trying to tell others how to live, using whatever excuse they can make-up.

[Katherine Brengle]

51. I think it's a good idea. You need to remember, a "child" is a person

who is under legal age to be in a pornographic movie. If the proper precautions aren't taken, many many girls look to be 18+ when they are far from it, and could be (and are) used in these movies even though it is illegal.

Also, it sounds like they are requiring the same kind of information required for *any* legal job in this country - basic personal information.

[endarkenment]

53. And as there has already been a crackdown on underage

people in porn films, and as the industry is very careful to make sure that they do not do this, and as the existing penalties are very severe, we need a blacklist for what reason?

[JHB]

54. We would only "need to remember" that fact if we had ever forgotten it.

As has been pointed out, there are already laws against that, and no one has shown any rampant violation of those laws which might require their revamping.

This is simply a measure to "throw red meat to the faithful" by harassing a target they love to hate, cloaking itself with "save the children" rhetoric.

[Yukari Yakumo]

64. I'll agree here.

Here's an example: Traci Lords has made over 100 porno films. Her last one is the only one she made after her 18th birthday.

I think we're seeing a lot of meaningless huffing and puffing in this thread. Arguing against this law is a very dangerous position to take.

[JHB]

52. The Republicans just want a date list.

Lazy Bastards.

[WinkyDink]

55. My opinion: This Admin loves porn, and wants to "investigate" it as much as possible.

It began with the "attempts" to "identify and rescue" child victims.

[spanone]

56. It's bullshit. Adults are adults...fuck the feds.

pornography for most has NOTHING to do with children.

[stirlingsliver]

60. Human Trafficking

"People" -- and I use that term loosely -- who traffic in human being often traffic in underage girls.

Those girls are bought and sold into slavery.

And often, they end up in porn.

Girls as young as 9 or 10 or 11 or 12.

Because there is a market for such porn.

I support requiring pornographers to obtain proof of the age of the actors -- and proof of identity.

Until trafficking in young girls ends, this seems to me reasonable.

This is a big issue. It involves thousands of young girls yearly.

[Disturbed]

61. Another lame attempt to please the RWing Christo-Theocrats.

Laws are already in place that deal with this issue. The lack of enforcement is the problem.

[Deja Q]

63. But I thought regulation was bad, and the market always settles things on its own?

/cynical

[blues90]

66. You are right , there are more important issues

They regulate porn where people have control of their own but they won't regulate anything else like food or clothing that kill people . Insane stuff .

[coco77]

68. Why isn't the religious right,,,

marching on Hugh Hefner he has been going strong for years, do they pick and choose which porn they like and don't...

[TroglodyteScholar]

69. This is like cracking down on homosexuality in order to deal with pedophilia

Based on a faulty premise, this scheme will accomplish absolutely nothing.

On edit: Post# 69! :evilgrin: