View Full Version : Legal Threats Stalk Adult Websites


bonsor
06-16-2004, 09:47 AM
taken from http://wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,63838,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_3
SAN DIEGO -- The landmark federal prosecution of an infamous porn producer is putting the fear of John Ashcroft into the owners of countless adult websites, even those whose content is far milder than the material under attack.

Experts told an audience of porn webmasters last weekend that they indeed have reason to worry. A variety of X-rated photos and videos could become illegal nationwide if the Bush administration scores an important victory in its war on obscenity. But the online adult industry is divided over exactly what to do about the threat from Attorney General Ashcroft and his crew.

On the one hand, "they're all worried that the attorney general and president of the United States are going to come knocking on their doors, telling them the gig is up," said adult entertainment attorney Eric M. Bernstein.

Even so, not everyone is rushing to help the far fringes of their industry fight off the threat of new obscenity standards. Many feel uncomfortable providing aid and comfort to people who think nothing of, say, simulating rapes on videotape.

At issue is whether a porn producer called Extreme Associates has the First Amendment right to sell videos featuring urination, simulated rape and adults depicted as minors, among other things. Extreme Associates is perhaps best known for the porn movie Forced Entry, which simulates a rape so violently that a camera crew for the PBS documentary series Frontline became disgusted and fled while filming the production.

While Extreme Associates is based in Southern California, the U.S. attorney in Pittsburgh is prosecuting the obscenity case over Forced Entry and several other videos whose names livened up a court filing (PDF) but won't be repeated here. She has jurisdiction because prosecutors were able to order the videos by mail and download them over the Internet. Porn industry attorneys suspect that federal prosecutors decided to pursue the case in Pittsburgh because they think it's more likely to cough up conservative jurors.

Simulated violence is uncommon in much of online porn, which tends to focus on traditional sex and naked bodies -- "soft-core pinup stuff," according to Quentin Boyer, head of public relations at TopBucks, which provides content to adult websites. But plenty of porn providers continue to sell legally risky material featuring bestiality, violence and people who look like minors. (Actual child pornography, of course, is illegal.)

Material depicting bodily functions and fetishes could also lead to trouble in court, but that hasn't stopped producers from continuing to explore their creativity in those areas. "There are certainly people out there going the extra mile," Boyer said.

Extreme material is especially popular on the Internet. "It's a lot easier for someone to explore the outer fringes of acceptable fantasies online because no one's going to know," he said. "A guy feels safer: 'I can check this stuff and I don't have to have a clerk looking at me and wondering why I'm looking at these trannies.'"

At the Cybernet Expo, which concluded on Saturday in San Diego, more than 120 porn webmasters listened closely as several panels explored the threats facing the industry. Many sought legal advice from the attorneys who peddled their services at the conference exhibit area amid merchants offering nudie pictures, webmaster resources and billing services.

"Some webmasters who have tried to get away without a lawyer and without anyone reviewing their sites are realizing it's critically important to have a competent attorney working with you," said adult attorney Lawrence Walters by phone. "The demand for our services has skyrocketed."

While some in the adult industry have tried to create Ashcroft-friendly guidelines (such as these explicit recommendations), obscenity prosecutions rely on vague "community standards." The Extreme Associates case could tighten up these community standards, for prosecutors are trying to stop the online distribution of porn, not just orders sent by mail to one region or state. Any new standards could potentially apply nationwide. And, as in the case of Extreme Associates, they might be retroactive.

Adult industry attorney Frederick Lane III advises his clients to think carefully about their content until the rules are clarified. But abandoning the most controversial material may be easier said than done. Extreme content can be very profitable because customers who find the rare material end up becoming "committed" to websites that offer it, Lane said.

One potential strategy is to turn illegal porn into legal art by adding plotlines to X-rated videos. "Let's say you have a rape scene," attorney Walters said. By itself, it could be challenged as obscene, "but it may be perfectly acceptable if it's portrayed in the context of a movie like The Accused."

There's another option that doesn't require anyone to take a creative writing class. "You go to the (porn) webmaster chat boards, and they're talking about moving out of the country," said Giorgio Xo, owner of adult classified websites. But porn purveyors may not necessarily find greener -- and less litigious -- pastures abroad. The U.S. government could extend the long arm of the law into bank accounts there, and other countries are also cracking down on pornography.

For now, porn webmasters are trying to decide whether to provide financial or moral support to Extreme Associates and its flamboyant owners, Robert Zacari and Janet Romano, also known as Rob Black and Lizzie Borden, respectively. "They're very divided," said Walters. "There's a very loud vocal contingent who believes Extreme Associates went too far, that they deserved what they got. They asked for trouble, and they've made life worse for everybody by producing extreme materials."

To some, the key point is that the performers and the customers are consenting adults. "You may not want to, but you really need to stand up for Rob Black," said Connor Young of YNOT Masters, which provides support services to porn sites.

Ultimately, the customers, not the performers, may be the key to the Pittsburgh obscenity case, which is now in the pre-trial phase. Since obscenity is defined by "community standards," observers expect Extreme Associates will try to prove that its products are popular in Pittsburgh by producing lists of local mail and Internet orders. Since the defendant is hardly known for subtlety, that could be quite a day in Steel City -- and potentially a defining moment for the porn industry.

I think we all know what Irrelevent and sickbadthing will have to say about this war on obscenity. Not to trivialize it though. Chances are I agree with them. It makes me nauseous. The wool is being pulled over our eyes and we're willingly letting it happen.

Ihaman
06-16-2004, 09:51 AM
Fuck that, let people do what they want.

Debaser
06-16-2004, 09:54 AM
i miss the days of clinton when his office didn't give a flying fuck about federally prosecuting porn, allowing the proliferation of internet porn during the internet boom.

Elvis The Fat Years
06-16-2004, 09:54 AM
Originally posted by Ihaman
Fuck that, let people do what they want.

Bush has a hard time excepting that concept.

Ihaman
06-16-2004, 09:54 AM
Originally posted by Elvis The Fat Years


excepting
Accepting.

bonsor
06-16-2004, 09:55 AM
accepting.

Ihaman
06-16-2004, 09:55 AM
Originally posted by ******
accepting.
Except.

bonsor
06-16-2004, 09:56 AM
ANYway.

i hate the christian right.

machinaddict
06-16-2004, 09:56 AM
Originally posted by ******
Extreme Associates is perhaps best known for the porn movie Forced Entry, which simulates a rape so violently that a camera crew for the PBS documentary series Frontline became disgusted and fled while filming the production. :adds to "must view" list:

Elvis The Fat Years
06-16-2004, 10:02 AM
Originally posted by machinaddict
:adds to "must view" list:

FORCED ENTRY

A LIZZY BORDEN VISION
Starring: Veronica Caine, Taylor St. Claire, Jewel DeNyle, Lizzy Borden, and Alexandria Quinn.

Description: The Most Controversial Movie In Extreme Associates' Video Arsenal. A Stunningly Disturbing Look At A Serial Killer, Satanic Rituals, And The Depths Of Human Depravity. This Is A Bonafide Director's Cut Version So Graphic, It Will Leave You Fucking Speechless!

http://www.extremeassociates.com/forcedvideo/

bonsor
06-16-2004, 10:02 AM
Originally posted by machinaddict
:adds to "must view" list: the documentary is probably streaming off of pbs.org

edit: yeah, it is. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/porn/view/

check out the one titled 'the jesus factor' as well. it's awesomely frightening.

machinaddict
06-16-2004, 10:05 AM
Originally posted by ******
the documentary is probably streaming off of pbs.org

edit: yeah, it is. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/porn/view/

check out the one titled 'the jesus factor' as well. it's awesomely frightening. will do.

Debaser
06-16-2004, 05:31 PM
i fucking love frontline.

Dead
06-16-2004, 05:43 PM
<b><font size="60">For the love of god, let us keep the japanese eel porn!!!</font></b>