Expert: Jim Boyd - 11/4/2007

Question
I have read, with some interest, your remarks pretaining to 18 USC 2257 compliance. I have also read with some detail the code itself and have a question you may not have considered before. I have seen a marked increas in the number of Adult Yahoo sites which provide prodigious quantities of home grown porn. These sites frequently exhibit more than two individual and usually in graphically explicit poses. My question is this, don't these sites also fall under this code, or is there some exemption as to commercial activity that I have not seen? Also, does the filming of groups of people having sex, without any payment, fall under the pandering and prostitution laws of which you have been speaking? As a producer of just such images and videos, I am most interested in your analysis of these questions. Thank you.

Answer
Q:   My question is this, don't these sites also fall under this code, or is there some exemption as to commercial activity that I have not seen?

A:    The Federal Regulations ABSOLUTELY applies to ALL adult material. However, in the case of Yahoo and similar sites there are a couple of twist to the legalities that allow for the type of content you mentioned.

Twist #1: Sites like Yahoo are NOT considered the “Primary” or “Secondary” Producers of this adult content as defined in the legal text of USC Title 18 Section 2257 and CFR Title 28 Part 75. Therefore, they (Yahoo Inc.) are not required to obtain and maintain the described records.

However, just because Yahoo is not responsible for legal compliance, does NOT mean those images/videos do not fall under the law.

Twist #2: If you take a take a picture of your wife/girlfriend/friends naked, or engaging in sexual activity, and post it on Yahoo….that legally makes YOU the legal producer of those images and REQUIRES YOU to legally maintain the prescribed records, in the described manor, for the required amount of time.

Simply put, you post a picture/video that does not comply to the requirements of USC 2257 and CFR 75 on a Yahoo site; it is YOU who is held legally responsible…not Yahoo.


Q:  Does the filming of groups of people having sex, without any payment, fall under the pandering and prostitution laws of which you have been speaking?

A: Yes/No/ Maybe: To be honest this is kind of a legal “grey area” and is simply up to the interpretation of the local authorities.

While there is technically nothing illegal about filming people having sex just for the fun of it in most jurisdictions, (meaning no one gets paid) you may run into trouble if you are talking about filming it for the purpose of distribution, regardless of if anyone was paid or not.

Jim Boyd