i'll wait till something "official" is released!
jim
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i'll wait till something "official" is released!
jim
First off let me say that I am not a lawyer and have not seen what was actually passed into law, but I did read the original amendments and researched it back when this all stated out, plus I did get a legal opinion for my own circumstances, so this is my informed opinion:
Lee, you are wrong in saying "this is a new law" - it is only an amendment to existing law for administrative purposes, they don't have to give any grace period but it is generally accepted that there will be a 30-day period of adjustment.
Similarly, it applies to all content covered under existing 2257 regs, so you can't get away with saying "I bought this last month so I don't need to be compliant".
Ken, take a look at the definition of secondary content producer, it is irrelevant if you actually shoot the content now, if you display any content on any website that is considered "sexually explicit" by their definitions then congratulations, you have been promoted to the title "secondary content producer" and you are now responsible for keeping extremely detailed records and have them available during accepted business hours at your primary business location.
Now, as a general comment, I would like to remind everyone that this is a USA regulation. If your primary business location is outside of the USA and you show general good faith intent on compliance, there is no way the USA government can go to your business and do an audit (& then fine you or shut you down), nor is there any way for them to ask officials of other countries to do this audit for them since no other country in the world has similar laws under which they can act.
Once again, I am hoping ChadKnowsLaw will be online soon to give us an official legal opinion on this stuff.
cheers,
Luke
True it is a US only law.. and if you don't sell content in the U.S., host your sites in the U.S., have your main place of business in the U.S., have a U.S. based processor, or have U.S. affiliates promoting your content... then things aren't the same for you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chilihost
I really hope they use these laws to really go after C*P* NOT just the average producer. It seems our current administration wants to stop people who love eachother from getting married and adopting children so who knows... they could go after the Gay people making porn too.. regardless of how old the models are... just to fuck with our community even more. Time will tell.
Ok, so since I don't display any content at all then its not something that I need to be concerned with at this point. Its mainly geared towards producers and websites themselves.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chilihost
nope, not correct. Webhosting was explicitly excluded in the proposed regs (haven't seen the passed regs yet) so its irrelevant where you host, the main relevance is your primary business location.Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirt
also, for billing, if you do not already have a US based presence you should not be processing within any US based processors thanks to visa's cross-boundry rules.
Ken, kcwebwerks does not display any sexually explicit content so you should be fine. Of course, the best thing is to go out and get your own legal opinions on this stuff!!!
cheers,
Luke
So you're telling me if the U.S. government finds a site hosted on U.S. servers, that has suspected C*P* and no 2257 info, they will just let the site stay active and not disable it?Quote:
Originally Posted by Chilihost
Well? How many of us are going to be setting up off-shore companies? ;)
I have. And NOT because of illegal purposes, but just in case things become too stringent back home or the administration goes on a witch hunt against all American pornographers. Better safe then sorry when it comes to my income, and the income of my affiliates.Quote:
Originally Posted by Xstr8guy
Offshore companies aren't expensive at all, neither is getting an offshore bank account.
Remember.. an offshore company isn't a way to stop paying taxes! As a U.S. citizen abroad you still have to pay all applicable taxes.
Also.. if you're just an individual doing affiliate work etc... you can just get a foreign account online, have them mail your ATM card to you, and you're able to withdraw your foreign income from any atm in the world. :thumbsup:
Everyone knows illegal porn is different - there are laws in almost every country against such types of illegal porn and cross-border prosecution is a reality (thank goodness for that!!!).Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirt
However, 2257 regs are US-specific.
The webhosting clause that I was referring to is from http://xxxlaw.net/
However, this is taken from the original comparison of the regulation changes. As I mentioned, I have not seen the new version that was actually passed.Quote:
(4) Producer does not include...
(iv) A provider of Web-hosting services who does not manage the content of the computer site or service;
If you post a 2257 compliance statement on your site and your primary place of business is not located within the USA, there is no possible way for them to verify this information, ipso facto, there is no basis for them to charge you or shut down your site.
cheers,
Luke
won't help even slightly if they go with the "primary place of business" clause they had in the proposed regulations. their only interest is where you sit when you work, not where you company claims to be based.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xstr8guy
Right what I'm saying is if they SUSPECT C*P*, and any site with cleanshaven guys or twinks is suspect, then they try to contact the owner of the site.. if the owner doesn't respond, and provide info, the site is shut down via the registrar and/or hosting company, by the investigators.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chilihost
Acacia did the same thing... you send notice, if they don't respond, you take it to the judge, get the default judgement, send it to the registrar, and the site is shut down.
Sites hosted in the states have to follow U.S. laws... if 2257 docs cannot be verified, wherever in the world they are.. those sites are in volation of the current 2257 regs.. and most likely the updated ones.
Just like here in Australia... it's illegal to host porn on Australian servers right? Just because I might have an American business presence, doesn't mean I'm immune to Australian laws regarding my adult hosting.
I'm glad they're going after this.. I think it's great.. again as long as it's only C*P* and not the average legal adult online business.
The DOJ has a new Newsletter tittled the "D0J 0bscenity Prosecution News"
You can see it here.. take out the * http://www.us*doj.go*v/crimi*nal/
I was shocked at this part of the site... take out the * http://www.us*doj.g*ov/crim*inal/ce*...sreleases.html
There are a large number of cases there I've never heard of .. prosecutions, and recent enditments, for stuff that is tame compared to the Extreme Associates case, or equal to it. Why haven't we heard of these cases through our normal adult news channels? One case is a chain of porn stores that had 8 DVD's, out of all the material they sell, which contained material a grand jury found offensive, adults having consentual sex, in a matter offensive to the grand jury.
This is why we need to be in full compliance with the new 2257 regs. though full compliance may not help much for those on the fringe... it seems they are filing cases and seeing what a grand jury feels is offensive.. then going forward almost like they are trying to widen the range of what is considered obscene through test cases.
At this point no one really knows what the new 2257 Regs are going to say.
Most likely they have been changed somewhat from the proposed regs that were posted.
The only fact that we know is that the Attorney General has signed the new regs. The won't go into effect until 30 days after they have been printed in the Federal Register. No one knows when they will be printed in the Federal Register but some speculation says that they should be included in todays release of the Register.
The "light at the end of the tunnel" is that the Free Speech Coalition has retained counsel to fight the regs. As soon as they are released the FSC will be filing an injunction against them in an attempt to prevent them from going into effect until such time as the FSC law suit can be heard.
It's honestly a waste of time to speculate at this point what the new regs may or may not contain. If you really want to spend time constructively the best thing every webmaster on this board can do is to join the Free Speech Coalition and support them monetarily.
More information about membership and about 2257 can be found at http://www.freespeechcoalition.com It really is imperative that all of us join the FSC as they are the only organization truly fighting to stop the new 2257 regs from going into effect. An associate membership in FSC is only $25.00. They are going to need all of the monetary help they can get in order to prevent the new regs from going into effect.
For the latest accurate information on these new regs go to:
http://www.freespeechcoalition.com/
Bill
does anyone have any thoughts or ideas as to when we will have a clearer picture of what is going on?
additionally - i'm hearing a lot of confusion here. who are you looking to as an authoritative source?
thanks bill!
there is some fast and furious posting happening here.