Expert: Dan Pepper - 5/9/2009

Question
Mr. Pepper,
I have started an website in Illinois. I am wondering what are the laws pertaining filming and production in my state. I want things to be legal(taxes and things like that) What steps should I take? I apologize if you've answered this question before.

Answer
Tean,

There are a number of laws that would affect your ability to film and produce in your state.  First and foremost are the state's prostitution and pandering laws, which you can view here:  http://prostitution.procon.org/viewbackgroundresource.asp?ResourceID=734  You'll also want to review the state's obscenity laws:  http://www.moralityinmedia.org/nolc/stateObscLaws/illinois.pdf

But I'll repeat here a response I've given before:

In 1988, the California Supreme Court in a case named People v. Freeman decided that pandering laws could not be used as a "tool to impose a system of governmental censorship of erotic materials."  Effectively, this means that the production of adult content in California is not pandering on the part of the producer, nor prostitution on the part of the performers.

With the explosion of adult content on the Internet since the 1990s, and the fact that very few pandering or prostitution charges were brought against adult performers or producers, it has generally been assumed that such content could be produced in the U.S. without risking these types of charges.

That being said, no other state in the U.S. has considered the decision in the Freeman case, which means we don't have a definite answer how Illinois will handle it.  Rhode Island and New Hampshire do have certain laws and/or cases that are permissive of either prostitution or the production of adult content, but the rules are narrow.  It is safe to assume that the more conservative jurisdiction you produce your content, the higher your risk.

Additionally, any adult content that is considered "obscene" under the definition of the U.S. Supreme Court, is also prohibited and illegal.

You should retain a qualified lawyer to assist you with ANY start-up business, but definitely in adult film production.  If you'd like to contact me with any questions, feel free to do so through www.adultwebsitelawyer.com.