LOS ANGELES – The adult industry’s age-verification best-practices guidelines, in unwritten, informal form, precede the U.S. federal government’s recordkeeping regulations mandated by 18 U.S.C. § 2257 and 2257A. While the industry trade association Free Speech Coalition and its allies continue to fight the laws in court, the organization recently formalized internal-to-the-industry guidelines in a best practice policy and accompanying age-verification form.

“These policies do not replace 18 U.S.C. § 2257 and 18 U.S.C. § 2257A,” the organization advised in a prepared statement. “Everyone should continue to comply with Section 2257 and/or 2257A, as applicable. If at some future date 18 U.S.C. § 2257 and 18 U.S.C. § 2257A should not be in force and effect, this [document] will reflect the best practice for the adult industry.”

FSC Executive Director Eric Paul Leue explained the organization’s challenge to the federal law.

18 U.S.C. section 2257 was not designed to detect or deter child pornography, and it does not do so. The industry endorses and supports the already existing legal penalties for the production of child pornography. In addition to the fact that is unethical to contract with or film people under 18 years old, there is a mandatory 15-year minimum imprisonment for doing so.

Child pornographers operate underground. These criminal enterprises don’t comply with federal and international laws, let alone record-keeping regulations. The legal adult industry, on the other hand, is meticulous about establishing, verifying and recording the legal age of performers. While child pornography is the subtext of 2257, this regulation does nothing to affect those who produce it, but instead creates huge burdens for legal adult producers. …

This labyrinth of absurd rules are designed to be used against adult producers when traditional prosecutions are blocked by the First Amendment.

The formalized policy and age-verification form are available on the Free Speech Coalition website.