Title 18, Section 2257 Compliance Regulations Shake up Adult Webmasters

The pending changes in the way adult content is regulated may rock the industry, depending on how fast the US Government moves to enforce the new rules, and how fast free speech advocates move to put a stay on it.

Judging by what adult webmasters are telling me, there's a bit of confusion as to what this could mean to them as affiliates, with the concomitant fear and anxiety that comes from not knowing how sure your ground is. The heart of the confusion lies in the ambiguity of what a "secondary producer" is. A few webmasters I spoke with are seriously considering pulling down all of their websites, while others say they will wait for more information.

I have been told that some programs have asked their affiliates to remove all of their free content, as well as asking their affiliates to stop using sexually explicit banners ads and to switch them out to non-explicit banners. Here is an email excerpt that was forwarded to me by a concerned adult webmaster:

At this time ------ will discontinue offering free content for promotion of any of it's sites. If you are using free content for any of the reality sites, you should remove it now... All promo material in the system that is explcit (sic) will have to be removed and redesigned.

According to some reports, free speech groups will begin filing suits on both the East and West Coasts, but they advise people that enforcement of the new ammendment, scheduled to go into effect on June 23rd, "is likely to be swift."

As the adult industry is one of the largest areas of internet commerce, it will be interesting to see how this shakes out.