WASHINGTON D.C. – The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has signed new record-keeping regulations for adult entertainment businesses. The new regulations update Title 18 U.S.C. § 2257, and could define most adult website owners as “primary producers” under 2257 rules. The specifics of the new rules, however, have not yet been released.The “primary producer” definition for adult webmasters, if included in the new rules, would mean that most adult website owners would need to carry out all duties traditionally associated with primary content producers, plus some possible additional duties that could be outlined in the new regulations. In this regard, the DOJ’s press release said only that the new rules will include internet publishers of sexually-explicit content under the definition of “pornography producers.” Website owners have been considered “secondary producers” in the past.

Barring a court challenge, the new rules could become enforceable law in 30 days.

First Amendment attorney Larry Walters of FirstAmendment.com cautioned webmasters not to jump to conclusions before the regulations are published.

“We should make sure that we analyze what has been adopted before we make any assumptions on the issue,” Walters said. He pointed out the possibility that some of the industry’s concerns were implmented before the final regulations were signed, but added it is likely “there are going to be difficulties complying with regulations as adopted.”

Under the rule changes originally requested by former Attorney General Ashcroft in 2004, new “primary producer” duties would include keeping detailed records on all models appearing on a website. These records would need to include photocopies of each model’s identification, and personal information about each model such as former stage names and contact details. Webmasters would also be required to organize these records in a complex and meticulously prescribed manner, and to publish on their website’s home page the physical address where the records could be inspected during normal business hours. Only a primary place of business would be acceptable for the published address, meaning most work-from-home webmasters would be required to list their home address on their websites where anyone viewing the website could see. Post office boxes and other off-site addresses would not be acceptable.

It is unclear at this time whether the regulations signed by Gonzales on Tuesday are identical to those proposed by Ashcroft in 2004.

Failure to comply with the new regulations can result in a multi-year federal prison sentence for offenders. Current guidelines for a 2257 record violation, passed as part of the Amber Alert Bill, suggest 5 years in prison for first-time offenders, and 10 years in prison for subsequent offenses.

The DOJ referred to the internet when explaining the need for the new regulations.

“Although regulations implementing section 2257 were first published in 1992, the proliferation of pornography on the Internet required that the regulations be updated and strengthened,” read a DOJ statement.

Adult industry observers have expected for some time that the new regulations would be implemented this year, and adult industry activists are expected to challenge the regulations in court.

Industry groups have pointed out that the record-keeping requirements are an excessive burden on legal adult businesses, that the government hasn’t even used previous 2257 laws, that there are easier ways to document the age of performers, and that the requirement to list a primary place of business will place many work-from-home webmasters and amateur performers at risk from stalkers and other individuals who might cause physical harm.

The DOJ’s press release tried to tie in the new regulations with efforts to combat child pornography:

“Minors are incapable of consenting to perform in sexually explicit depictions and are often forced to engage in sexually explicit conduct. For these reasons, visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct that involve persons under the age of 18 constitute illegal child pornography. The record-keeping requirements, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 2257, are crucial to preventing children from being exploited by the production of pornography. Violations of the requirements are criminal offenses punishable by imprisonment for up to five years for a first offense and up to 10 years for subsequent offenses.”

There has been no evidence that 2257 record-keeping laws have ever been effective in preventing children from appearing in a sexually explicit image, since only lawful businesses concern themselves with record-keeping laws in the first place.

The Free Speech Coalition, the adult entertainment industry’s trade group, is expected to challenge the new regulations in court. The FSC will likely seek an immediate injunction prohibiting the government from enforcing the new regulations until a challenge has been completed in court.