LOS ANGELES, CA — Free Speech Coalition, the national trade association for the adult industries, will be hosting its first annual Leadership Conference on January 18, 2018 in conjunction with XBIZ at the Andaz Hotel in West Hollywood. The intimate, one-day conference will be open to FSC members only.

“If we’re going to grow as an industry, we need places where leaders can engage with outside experts on key issues,” says Eric Paul Leue, FSC’s Executive Director “Last year, FSC was really fortunate to secure representatives from companies like Wired.com, Mozilla, and the Center for Democracy and Technology for our XBIZ panel discussion on HTTPS. The hall was packed, and we received a tremendous response, so we wanted to expand on that success this coming year. We are grateful that XBIZ is providing the space for these important discussions.”

“2018 is going to present challenges unlike anything we’ve faced before, issues that can impact everyone’s bottom line, whether you’re involved in online commerce or not,” says Alec Helmy, Publisher of XBIZ. “It’s imperative that we acquire authoritative information, discuss the risks and determine the best course of action for our businesses — and FSC’s Leadership Conference will enable us to do just that.”

Representatives from the British Board of Classification (BBFC), the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) and others will be among the presenters and panelists at this year’s Leadership Conference.

Topics will include:

Net Neutrality and SESTA

The potential loss of net neutrality, coupled with challenges to the Communications Decency Act’s Section 230 (through the Senate’s SESTA bill) may be THE free speech battle for the 21st Century. Internet speeds for adult sites could be slowed or stopped by cable providers and other ISPs, and adult sites could be held liable for content uploaded to their sites. We’ll be talking with experts who will explain how these these changes will affect adult sites, and how to fight back.

The UK Digital Economy Act

Starting in Spring 2018, the UK will require mandatory age-verification for any visitor to an adult site, using a third-party verifier. Sites that do not comply will be blocked in the UK, with potential fines of up to $250,000. If successful, the DEA is likely to become a template for age-verification elsewhere, including the US. We’ll talk with experts who will explain how to comply, and what your rights are.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Extensive new data privacy laws in the EU could result in millions of dollars in fines for adult companies, no matter where they reside. Companies who do not adequately protect user data, or alert users after data breaches, could face fines of up to 4% of revenue. We’ll talk with experts who will lay out the rules for the GDPR, how to comply.
There is no cost to attend the Leadership Conference for members, but available space is limited in order to provide a more manageable discussion. The invitations for the Leadership Conference will be sent out in the beginning of December to FSC Diamond and Platinum members, after any additional space will be opened to the broader FSC membership base.

FSC members interested in attending the Leadership Conference should contact Julie@freespeechcoalition.com, and ask to be added to the interest list.