As I write this, America now knows that it will see four more years of a conservative administration. It might see four more years of pornography opponent John Ashcroft at the helm of the United States Justice Department, although one can hope he might be replaced with someone better.As I write this, America now knows that it will see four more years of a conservative administration. It might see four more years of pornography opponent John Ashcroft at the helm of the United States Justice Department, although one can hope he might be replaced with someone better. There are reports that Ashcroft will leave. For the next two years at least, conservatives will enjoy bigger numbers in the United States Congress. The already conservative makeup of the United States Supreme Court will likely see new conservative additions to its ranks. And American voters cited “moral values” and the number one reason they visited their local voting booth last Tuesday. None of this is good news for sexual freedoms.

Some of you may, for a variety of reasons, welcome these truths. Others will fear them. Many just don’t care. Yet no matter which side of the political fence you site, there are considerations that need to be taken into account when planning the direction of your adult entertainment business for 2005 and beyond. Since the anti-pornography groups and their thinkers are almost exclusively tied to conservative politicians, the risks of doing business in the adult entertainment industry will be higher during the next four years than they would have been had less conservative philosophies prevailed on election day. That doesn’t mean that you need to get out of the adult business. The situation isn’t that severe at this point. But there are some things that you can do to remove any unnecessary risks from the equation. Some of these things take a little time and others take a little money, but planning now might save you a serious headache in the future.

And here it is: the disclaimer. I am not a lawyer. Nothing you read here should be considered legal advice. I do, however, have almost eight years of experience in the online adult entertainment field. It is my hope that some of that experience might come into play to help you and your business stay away from preventable mistakes. Some of these ideas might seem obvious to you while others might be less obvious. Hopefully you will find a few good thoughts that you can use.

Let’s start with the most obvious. A warning page. A “warning page” is simply a page that is placed at the start of your website (usually index.html in the root directory) that contains no explicit nudity or sex and that informs visitors what they are about to see if they choose to continue into the site. Some webmasters have laughed off the “warning page” concept because, let’s face it, a warning page isn’t likely to stop a determined child from clicking through to the more explicit content. Yet a warning page is still useful for a variety of reasons.

First, it’s common for a small but vocal group of people to visit an adult website and then scream to whoever will listen that they were somehow “tricked” into visiting the site in question. You know how this works. A man visits an adult website while the wife is at the grocery store. His wife late finds the URL in the browser’s history list and confronts her husband, demanding to know why he would dare look at another woman. The man claims he was “tricked” into visiting, and the angry wife believes this lie and files a complaint with the government. Same type of thing can happen with children too… they probably won’t want to admit to their parents that they hit the internet looking for porn.

Putting up a non-explicit “warning page” eliminates any “I was tricked” arguments that might be used against you. And any children who enter your website will have done so knowing full well why they were there, no excuses. Additionally, a warning page is a show of good faith which says that your website is not interested in displaying explicit content to those who may have arrived at your site by mistake. It’s easy to add a warning page, so there’s no really good reason why you should pass on this little tidbit of protection.

There’s more to a warning page than a simple “Enter Here If You’re Over 18” link. Some of the things that you might add to your warning page are Terms and Conditions, links to filtering software information (again as a show of good faith), and your 18 U.S.C. 2257 notice, if necessary. Let’s address each in turn before moving on to other risk reducers.

One of your best legal protections is your Terms and Conditions text. The problem is it’s illegal for you to simply visit someone else’s webpage and copy what you see. Writing your own Terms and Conditions text is also problematic since improper wording could essentially leave you without any of the legal benefits that you’re seeking. You may not want to hear this but the best way to get the Terms and Conditions text that will help protect your adult website is to speak with an attorney. An attorney can also explain in more detail exactly how Terms and Conditions text can provide you with some legal protections.

Linking your warning page to filtering software is an act of good faith. You might provide links to sites like CyberSitter.com or NetNanny.com. Filtering software is one of the best options available to parents who are concerned that their children might come into contact with pornography while surfing the internet. By linking to filtering software companies you’re reminding parents that it is their responsibility to protect their own children, and that technology solutions are available to make that happen. Again, no excuses. This act might not provide you with much in the way of legal protection, but it could help you to discourage any potential complaints against your website. And who knows, if you did end up in court it might also provide you with another means to assert your good character.

Also remember that there are “voluntary ratings” sites. Sites like SafeSurf.com and ICRA.org. If you take the step to voluntarily rate your website, concerned parents need only to turn on appropriate browser filters to keep their children off your site. If they don’t take that step, you did your part. You can include buttons on your warning page that show your support for voluntary ratings systems.

Providing the proper “Custodian of Records” statement is a must for most adult websites. Sites that show any actual sexual activity need to include a statement detailing where any records required by Title 18 U.S.C. 2257 are kept. This is a huge issue and one that has come under increasing scrutiny by the United States government recently. Because this issue is so important, and because the consequences of getting it wrong are so staggering, I’m going to leave off here other than to say that if you don’t know what to do, talk to an attorney since the penalties for messing up include numerous years in a federal “pound you in the ass” penitentiary.

If you really want to lower your risks, stick to softcore only. By “softcore” I mean sites that show only nudity with no masturbation or toy insertions. And yes, you can still make plenty of money with softcore-only sites. Just look at LightspeedCash.com if you need proof. This softcore-only route should be an attractive option for those webmasters who don’t have a lot of money for legal fees. The softcore only route, properly done, reduces your chances of any obscenity prosecution by a significant degree and also virtually eliminates potential penalties from an 18 U.S.C. 2257 violation. What it doesn’t do is protect you if one of the models on your site turns out to be under eighteen.

As part of your protective process, you need to have some system in place that leaves you reasonably sure that you aren’t accidentally showing pictures of a seventeen year-old who claimed to be eighteen when she shot her nude pictures. Voluntarily complying with 2257 solves this problem, but you can also implement your own system of record-keeping. What’s most important here is that any content you buy, video or stills, includes copies of model IDs and preferably model releases as well. If your content provider refuses to provide this information then move on to another content provider. It’s not worth the risk. In this business, never just take someone’s word for it that the model is over eighteen years old. Demand proof, no exceptions.

In terms of records, it’s a good idea to keep secondary copies of your important business documents – especially model IDs – at a secondary location. Why? If for any reason your records were ever seized, you may need additional copies of your records. And don’t forget the risk of losing your records in a fire. If you have an attorney then his or her office might be a good place to store redundant files. A relative’s house might also work.

If you choose to go with a hardcore site but want to reduce your risks a little bit, censor any hardcore that is shown in the unprotected area of your website. Why will that help? Well, if a kid is caught looking at the outside of your site, a parent is far less likely to be enraged and file a complaint if the action there is censored. Censored content might also help you fight off any claims that you provided material that is “harmful to minors.” These risks aren’t necessarily high, so you’ll need to decide whether they warrant action or not. Some webmasters believe that censoring “outside” content helps drive sales anyhow, but at the end of the day it’s a call you’ll have to make.

Also, think about the content you publish. Those of you who believe strongly in Free Speech rights may not like to admit this, but not all content carries the same risk. Fetish content like fisting, bondage (especially S&M) and urination all come with additional risk according to the legal history of this country. The more “out of the mainstream” your content gets, the higher your risks.

Finally, the best way to keep your risks low is to work with an attorney. But hiring a lawyer isn’t enough… you also need to implement your attorney’s advice. Unfortunately it’s very common for people to pay a lawyer for an opinion and then fail to act on the advice. Don’t make that mistake if you’re concerned about reducing your risks.

Connor Young is Editor-in-Chief of YNOT News. He has been involved with the online adult entertainment business since 1997, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Internet Freedom Association (i-freedom.org); He also serves as Editor-in-Chief of The ADULTWEBMASTER Magazine.