caneadea said:
Yeh, Rob,
Fill me in on USC 18/sec 2257....
I'll give you a brief overview... Title 18 United States Code, section 2257 is a Federal Law. Title 18 in general deals with "crimes and criminal procedure." Actually, it is Title 18 (Crimes and Criminal Procedure) Part I (Crimes) Chapter 110 (Sexual Exploitation and Other Abuses of Children) Section 2257 (Record Keeping Requirements). This has been on the books, since, I think, 1990... as a result of President Reagan's urging, the creation of the Meese Commission, and their subsequent "findings." Due to the proliferation of the Internet since 1990, the Congress has renewed interest in the statutes. Okay, think back to 1990, when the law was passed... especially your Internet access... oh, right, chances are you DIDN'T HAVE internet access then - most people did not. The definitions were all easier when pornography was basically either videotape, film, or print. It was not interactive, once distributed could not really be altered. Now look at any porn produced since, say, 1995. It all has (by legal requirement) the "disclosure statement" affirming that all models are of legal age, who verified, where records are kept... Now jump back to the present, where just about anything is available online, people can upload pics or videos of just about anything... Proposed additional regulations (I'm not sure if they have been adopted yet) define the webmaster as a "secondary producer" and make him liable to the record-keeping requirements, as well as having the disclosure statement on the home page. This statement requires, among other things, the name and physical address of the secondary producer (no P. O. Box) to be in print at least 11 pt... on the home page. It also requires extensive record-keeping of each and every image on the website, including proof of identity of the persons depicted. The records are to be kept apart from any other records, and must be maintained for 7 years, or 5 years after the close of the business. The records are also to be available for inspection by federal agents 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Inspectors may or may not give advance notice, as they deem "appropriate."
Some of the definitions used in the law could be very broadly defined, especially the definitions of "sexually explicit." Nudity,
per se, is not... but an erect penis, or a hand near a penis, could be... All it would take is one disgruntled fundie to make a complaint. That would give the feds all the "probable cause" they needed to seize records, including your credit card info if you are a paid member... your email address... it goes on and on. The law also gives the Attorney General amazingly broad power to make arbitrary additional decisions.
Sorry this is so long, but I feel it is important that we all know what we are working with here. Rob, if I have made any glaring mistakes here, please feel free to correct me.