18 USC 2257: Always & Forever
Some legal thoughts, courtesy of J. D. Obenberger
There is one thing in the adult industry that remains constant. Klixxx webmasters in adult-oriented businesses must be vigilant and proactive, when it comes to legal requirements and legislation affecting e-business.
Section 2257 - ALWAYS A HOT TOPIC
I can't stress enough how much trouble one can get into for violating this criminal statute. Violations can carry penalties up to fifteen years for each image. Mr. Thomas Reedy, down in Dallas-Fort Worth was sentenced to over 1,000 years in prison. He'll be in the federal Bureau of Prisons for the rest of his life. His young wife will spend the rest of her youth behind bars, too. Even a technical violation of Section 2257 carries a two-year prison maximum sentence. No red flag will pop up, and no buzzer will go off when you upload illegal material via ftp to your server. But the deed will be done, and there may be much opportunity for regret for a long time thereafter. If you don't understand the laws, you'll never be sure that you're not breaking them.
ORANGE JUMPSUITS
I've been with families on the night when the agents came and broke down the door. I've seen the spouses and the children of the webmaster and the looks on their faces. It is a mood that is impossible to describe, but it's not very nice. I've seen the utter chaos and destructive mess that a search warrant posse leaves behind, after pulling apart all your possessions under the warrant looking for evidence of your misconduct. I've been there when my client has started to pick up the pieces of this mess, and the pieces of his life, for real. I've gotten the calls from the wife after the arrest, and from the small-town newspapers, too. I've heard what the other kids tell the webmaster's kids in school.
GET THINGS IN ORDER
The time is now to get things in order. We have a new Attorney General, a new leader of the federal office that co-ordinates the prosecution of obscenity and child pornography. It is a new day, and to quote Credence Clearwater Revival, I See a Bad Moon A-risin' - still. This is the time to clean up your operation, to review your content for legality, and to protect yourself. The videotape industry has existed long enough to remember the prosecutions under Reagan-Bush in the eighties and early nineties, and they've taken all of those hard-learned lessons to heart; The Webmaster community evolved during the Clinton-Reno administration (which seemed to have more important issues on its plate), and as a result, it has never seen the heavy hand, nor felt the boots of government agents and prosecutors, except in the most extreme cases. To paraphrase the New Testament; behold, they will come like a thief in the night.
I am delighted to try any case, especially to a jury, but in all honesty the most successful defense of a criminal case is to make sure that no crime is committed in the first place. That solution in the end is also the least expensive and most anxiety free method for avoiding a criminal prosecution.
RESEARCH AND INQUIRE
If you feel you could understand 18 USC 2257 better than you do now, and would like to do some research and initiate some inquiries with respect to your e-business, you can start by reading my very long and detailed article about 2257 compliance on my site, www.xxxlaw.net, which you'll reach by clicking on the "Section 2257 Materials" box in the red table. You will find a page with links to my Article, and to all of the federal statutes and administrative regulations, which my Article explains.
There are only a handful of lawyers in the United States who really concentrate on these content areas. I regularly review websites, including some whose names you would immediately recognize. I look closely at the images and the text, advise my clients on the dangers they are encountering, and tell them frankly what their risk factor is. I advise them as to how to minimize it. I have prepared very detailed 2257 compliance checklists with full and complete instructions on how to insure compliance with the criminal laws, a very detailed 2257 data acquisition form designed to bring the operation into legal compliance, and a model release which I wrote, not only to maximize 2257 protection, but to guarantee all rights internationally and permanently into the future. All of these documents are copyrighted and available nowhere on the Web. I provide them in Acrobat format to each client who retains me annually, custom adapted and written for the needs of each. Make certain that your attorney is providing you with at least these basic safeguards, and making you aware of the steps you should be taking to protect your business and yourself.
Our office provides content review, 2257 compliance, contracts with or for photographers, publication, distribution, and display rights, registration and enforcement of copyrights, and defense of criminal obscenity cases.
All the help necessary to make sure you stay out of trouble.
I invite you to visit www.xxxlaw.net and to contact me by e-mail through the link on my Web site.
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