GlobalMalePass 18 USC 2257 Compliance Kit

[SebSloPro]

I'm going to post my experience with the feds on behalf of record keeping...

Last year, I was invesigated on behalf of my records.

When the gov't comes in to investigate you, they are looking for 3 very simple documents:

Model ID / Drivers License - Cannot be altered, expired, or fake in any way
A Model Release consenting to be photographed
A 2257 Compliance Form which Nick Baer posted earlier

And they are looking for the following materials to aid in their investigation:
Model Index File
Videos that model was in

Most keep their releases in binders. I keep them in filing cabinets. I'm a custodian of records for other studios including myself. Each studio has their own filing cabinet. I keep the model names in alphabetical order by last name, first name, middle initial. (REAL NAMES).

The sloppier you are on your records, the longer the feds will be in your home or place of establishment.

Also, on my models that are 24 years old or younger I require 2 forms of ID to possibly eliminate the chances of them having a fake id.
Models 25 or older, I require 1 form of ID which is the primary id of:
Drivers License, State ID, Military ID, Passport, Country ID, so on and so forth.

Most of you are correct, most of you are wrong. You may get upset, I dont really care because what I'm stating are facts not fiction. I am a real survivor when I was investigated, I dealt with the feds for 4.5 long hours!

It will never hurt you to be more organized and efficient on your record keeping. The more organized you are, the better you will pass.

Here's the AVN Article from when I was investigated: http://www.avn.com/index.cfm?objectI...0B6288F87118DF

[SebSloPro]

OH YES! I forgot...

Global Male Pass DOES NOT need your 2257 information. Yes, your probably hosted on their servers. But you operate the website. The content is yours. Your website should have a "2257" link which informs who the custodian of records is. That's where you state who the custodian of records is.

In the event that you should ever be investigated. The gov't is going to first go to the address that 2257 page is at, then they'll investigate further.

What Alec, Joel, or any others at Global Male fail to mention is that they want your model releases because they want YOUR content in their members "VIP" section. They were caught stealing content on numerous occasions in the past.

The reason they started requesting 2257 info is because I had sites with them last year. I got investigated.... Then Alec got scared and started that whole policy. I found my content on pages THEY BUILT which they had no rights to. And later I bought a membership to their "VIP Area" and found my content ALL OVER THE PLACE!" I got with my attorney, he sent them a letter, they pulled it down immediately. A friend of mine owns a studio, he found his there also.

You have to watch out for certain "AVS / AEN Systems" they're good at that. Not all are like that, but GMP is the worst!

[gaybucks_chip]

When the gov't comes in to investigate you, they are looking for 3 very simple documents:

Model ID / Drivers License - Cannot be altered, expired, or fake in any way
A Model Release consenting to be photographed
A 2257 Compliance Form which Nick Baer posted earlier

If this is your experience, it's very disturbing, because 2257 makes absolutely no references whatsoever to model releases, nor to a "2257 compliance form" although the information requested on the form is part of 2257 records that every producer is required to maintain. But there's no requirement as far as I know that models sign an affidavit of age, or that a model sign a copy of their ID.

Our attorney has advised us that releases should be stored elsewhere, in a physically different office from 2257 docs, and if requested by investigating authorities, we should say "Releases are not, from our understanding, part of 2257 records, and they are not stored here and not available for review."

If the FBI is, in fact, requiring documents that are not part of 2257, they would be required to have a search warrant in order to get them. (This notwithstanding the argument that many have made (and so far untested) that *any* 2257 investigation is, in fact, a violation of the 4th Amendment.)

[deanb]

If the FBI is, in fact, requiring documents that are not part of 2257, they would be required to have a search warrant in order to get them. (This notwithstanding the argument that many have made (and so far untested) that *any* 2257 investigation is, in fact, a violation of the 4th Amendment.)

According to Xbiz article, this 2257 inspection was done with a search warrant.

While each company was subjected to 2257 inspections, only gay content producer JJ Ruch, who owns Sebastian Sloane, was served with a search warrant.

Ruch told XBIZ that the warrant directed authorities to search for evidence of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit acts.

According to Douglas, who did not review the document personally, the warrant contained both directions to search for evidence of child pornography as well as a component instructing the agents to inspect Ruch's 2257 records.

http://xbiz.com/articles/17251

[SebSloPro]

First and foremost, I was NEVER served with a search warrant. That was evidently made up by XBiz.

Secondly, I never said that MODEL RELEASES WERE REQUIRED.

When I was investigated, they just wanted to know that I had releases from the models consenting to be photographed. They asked me if I had consent forms, I said yes. I pulled the consent forms out of my filing cabinet, held them up to them and said yes. The one agent said "good enough."

They didn't get a chance to read any of the information. They wanted a yes or no.

[gaybucks_chip]

Actually, I think you did, which is why I was concerned.

When the gov't comes in to investigate you, they are looking for 3 very simple documents:

Model ID / Drivers License - Cannot be altered, expired, or fake in any way
A Model Release consenting to be photographed
A 2257 Compliance Form which Nick Baer posted earlier
[/url]

It's still a little disturbing that they asked, since that's clearly not part of 2257.

The following is from the AVN article:

the agents showed up on Ruch’s doorstep at approximately 8 a.m. EST, went through his model release documents, his computers, video cameras, masters and even searched his kitchen and living room.

If that quote is accurate, it is very disturbing, in light of the fact that they did not have a warrant, and no other producers have reported having anything other than 2257 records examined or searched, as far as I know.

To the extent that 2257 confers *any* right to enter your offices, it would not have granted them any rights to look at video cameras, masters, or computers. Did AVN misquote on that?

[SebSloPro]

Chip, do you read stuff before you post or are you just a drama queen?

I'm asking this because NOWHERE does it say there was a "warrant"

They searched through my kitchen and living room because I filmed that weekend prior and had 2257 stuff in my kitchen and in my living room.

I suggest that you read postings thoroughly before you comment.

And personally, I think your full of shit and a know it all that really doesn't know it all.

[deanb]

Chip, do you read stuff before you post or are you just a drama queen?

I'm asking this because NOWHERE does it say there was a "warrant"

They searched through my kitchen and living room because I filmed that weekend prior and had 2257 stuff in my kitchen and in my living room.

I suggest that you read postings thoroughly before you comment.

And personally, I think your full of shit and a know it all that really doesn't know it all.

If the fbi didn't have a search warrant, and that is what Xbiz is quoting you as saying, and what happened. I would get an attorney, well, I would have gotten one when they posted the article, but you should get one now, and at the very least get the article removed.

You would also probably want to collect damages, as I am sure that in some ways this has damaged your reputation.

As for Chip being a drama queen, I would beg to differ, he is probably one of the most helpful people on and off of this board. I would venture to say that he has respect from most of the people around here. .

[deanb]

First and foremost, I was NEVER served with a search warrant. That was evidently made up by XBiz.

Here you said that you were served with a warant for search and seizure.

http://gaywebmasters.com/forums/viewthread/358/

I wasn’t going to let them go through anything with out some sort of warrant to search. They had shown me a search warrant for a search and seize of the property. They said this is a standard investigation that they’re doing it with all companies that produce pornographic materials.

So is someone else posting as you, or did you have a warrant or not?

[IdolKnights]

[gaybucks_chip]

Chip, do you read stuff before you post or are you just a drama queen?

Yes, I did read everything in the thread, which is why I quoted your own words in an earlier post. And you'll notice I was concerned about the fact they *did not* have a warrant, I wasn't saying they had one.

They searched through my kitchen and living room because I filmed that weekend prior and had 2257 stuff in my kitchen and in my living room.

So your practice is to leave records that are crucial to the operation of your business lying around in the kitchen and living room, particularly after (according to the AVN article) you've received an advance call that the FBI will be coming to inspect the records?

And personally, I think your full of shit and a know it all that really doesn't know it all.

Sorry that you feel that way. I'm pretty quick to own up to it if I'm wrong about something. I never said that the FBI had a warrant, that was a quote from the Xbiz article, and my point was that the FBI's right to legally inspect even 2257 records without a warrant is tenuous according to most attorneys, and the right to go other places in someone's house would be nonexistent.

And, if there was no warrant, why was the FBI looking at your master tapes and your camcorder? Did you have 2257 records stored in the tape slot of your camcorder as well, or was that also a misquote?

Let me know (after *you* have read the entire thread) what I have misquoted, misstated, or been incorrect on, and I will gladly offer up a correction and apology.

[GMPass_Joel]

Hey everyone,

This is Joel with GlobalMalePass, here to hopefully clear some things up and contribute to this discussion. I'll start with why we are asking for model releases. We are simply taking the advice of the lawyers and consultants we've had helping us with 2257 for years. They have told us to make sure we have both model releases and IDs for all qualifying images on our site. Because websites listed on our content page can be considered as part of our site, we need to have 2257 information for those sites. We are trying to work with each of our webmasters on this and have been contacting people for about a year now to set things up.

I'd like to make sure that no one is under the impression that we are in any way trying to steal your content by asking for your model releases. In our VIP area, we provide content from a number of different video and image providers, all of which we have deals with and pay fees to. I personally have known and worked with many webmasters in the Los Angeles area for years, and would not be with a company that is in the business of blatantly taking content from their own webmasters.

If you have any more specific questions pertaining to our current policy for this ever changing 2257 issue, please feel free to ask me here or email me directly at joel@gmpass.com.

Thanks

-Joel

[GMPassAlec]

Hi everyone,

I know I dont post on here often but to further Joel's comments, its imperative we explain exactly why we say what we do so there is no confusion and no room for any spin to be made from our policies.

First and foremost its necessary to understand that the implementation of any policy is made always with the interest of keeping GlobalMalePass and its webmasters ahead of the curve in an ever-changing industry. Afterall, why would we make changes to a perfectly functioning machine unless it was absolutely necessary? Our intention all along has been to not only comply with the current parameters of the law but to understand the direction it is headed in and position ourselves and our webmasters to not miss a beat if/when any major 2257 changes are made. Hence the 2257 policy mentioned here.

With that said, and without delving into an unecessary explanation about the past, any negative comments made here are unfortunate to read but thats the nature of a message board--Everyone has 1 voice and its heard equally by everyone else however those that have been with us for the long run know that we've become a staple in this industry because of among other things, our upstanding business ethics. We havent been around for nearly a decade because we like to steal content If you dont understand a certain policy or dont agree with how things are done, posting on the board or better yet emailing us directly might help keep the air clear in the first place

Thanks for hearing me out everyone :bigears:

Alec Alexander

[basschick]

over the years i have found chip to be far from a drama queen. he reads postings more carefully than most, and is always very helpful and free with his knowledge.

i remembered very clearly that according to that article they had a warrant. it stood out in my mind because so far yours was the only inspection where that was the case, so i feel it's very important as it could affect others.

Chip, do you read stuff before you post or are you just a drama queen?

I'm asking this because NOWHERE does it say there was a "warrant"

They searched through my kitchen and living room because I filmed that weekend prior and had 2257 stuff in my kitchen and in my living room.

I suggest that you read postings thoroughly before you comment.

And personally, I think your full of shit and a know it all that really doesn't know it all.

[Lee]

it stood out in my mind because so far yours was the only inspection where that was the case, so i feel it's very important as it could affect others.

Yep thats what i remember about it also.

Makes you wonder why a warrant was issued and what they were actually looking to find as 2257 inspection just seemed to be a side-issue.

Regards,

Lee