I have a question about amateur porn sites --

[Guest Matias47]

RT's new site brought up a thought I've had before --

We all know that, ever since Traci Lords, porn producers need to keep records of the proof of ages of the actors. How does that apply to amateur sites? If it doesn't, how do you protect yourself from someone posting underage material?

Just curious.

[rawTOP]

Well, there are two issues... Under age content and copyright.

The law of the land (in the US) when it comes to age verification is "18 U.S.C. 2257", or just "2257" for short. 2257 is a mess. It was pushed through by Republicans in an effort to "be tough" but it's so riddled with problems that it's essentially unenforceable.

For example, a Canadian can be in a porn video and their Canadian government ID is considered valid if the video is shot anywhere in the world except the US. But if the video is shot in the US then only US government ID is allowed. That's just dumb.

With 2257 the emphasis is more on record keeping than actually preventing underage guys. You can get fined for not having the right document filled out in the right way. For example, if you shot a guy who's 80 years old, you could get thrown in jail because you don't have the correct documentation proving that he's not 16 or 17 when clearly an 80 year old isn't a teenager.

As a result the Justice Department has essentially refused to enforce 2257 mostly because they know there are lawyers all over the country itching to fight them on it, and they know they'll lose.

Now, 2257 has an exemption which applies to hookup sites. Amateurs can upload pictures and videos of themselves all they want. All the site has to do is verify that the person certifies that they're at least 18, and that they own the image/video.

Then there's the issue of copyright. That we do have semi-adequate laws on - though they need updating. IF (and it's a big if) a producer files their videos with the copyright office, then every non-licensed use of that video carries something like a $5,000 fine. This is why I'm a hardass on professionally produced videos - the fines can get into the millions very quickly since every viewing is a use. However, typically producers just send take down notices and lawsuits are only brought against the egregious repeat offenders.

[Guest Matias47]

Thanks, RT. I knew you'd come through.