Perhaps it’s an understatement, but the online adult entertainment business is often turbulent. Although the rate of change has steadied somewhat in recent years, 2004 was nonetheless a year of significant developments..Perhaps it’s an understatement, but the online adult entertainment business is often turbulent. Although the rate of change has steadied somewhat in recent years, 2004 was nonetheless a year of significant developments.

First, it might be helpful to point out something notable that didn’t happen. Ever since George W. Bush assumed the office of President in January of 2000, the adult industry has been bracing for an onslaught of legal trouble; a sort of “shock and awe” display of might from the United States Justice Department. At this point, that assault hasn’t happened – and with Attorney General Ashcroft on his way out, any “pornography war” will have to come from someone else, namely incoming Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. What will happen with Gonzales remains to be seen, but for the time being we can all but close the book on Ashcroft. In an election year, the President and his administration seemed to save their wrath for Hollywood, and television studios were fined in the millions for relatively benign events like Janet Jackson’s nude stunt. It could be that the Bush administration knows there’s more money to be made harassing Howard Stern and TV networks than in fighting costly obscenity battles with the online adult business. Or is that being too optimistic?

Of course that doesn’t mean there was no cause for concern on the 2004 legal front; but the most significant developments were low-key when compared to the anticipated massive onslaught that never materialized. We saw proposed changes to 18 U.S.C. 2257 that, if enacted, will drastically alter the record-keeping requirements of secondary content producers – including those webmasters who merely lease their content through brokers. The high profile obscenity case against Extreme Associates continued in 2004, and a negative ruling in key areas of this case could clear legal hurdles to further anti-porn actions. Extreme’s attorney Louis Sirkin is trying a new defense based largely on the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling in a Texas sodomy case, and if successful the tactic could change obscenity law as we know it. But it’s notable that many of America’s major cellular phone companies are opting to ban adult content from their emerging wireless networks; they often claim their purpose is to “protect children,” but those claims almost certainly mask legal concerns about an uncertain future in light of the FCC crackdown on indecency.

One final bit on the legal front that is worth noting: the return of anti-porn attorney Bruce Taylor to the United States Justice Department. Taylor has spent the better part of the last decade working with anti-porn groups along the lines of Morality in Media; he has consistently lobbied the government on behalf of these groups for a tighter enforcement of obscenity laws, which he believes apply to all hardcore adult content. That the Justice Department found a position for him in 2004 was a troubling development, but the closeness of the presidential election almost certainly kept any potential drastic actions in check. The adult industry would be wise to keep an eye on Taylor as the new Attorney General takes over for Ashcroft. If Taylor stays, that could be a sign that those anti-pornography activities we heard about before the election will continue into the Bush Administration’s second term.

Moving on to other aspects of the business, 2004 was widely considered the year of broadband. As broadband connections became available to an increasing number of homes in the United States and abroad, broadband usage skyrocketed. A survey published early in December showed that one in four people signed up for broadband access in order to download more porn. In other words, our industry has been instrumental in the continuing transition from dial-up to broadband.

And of course broadband gains only helped the continuing development of “reality porn” sites and the domination of video content. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t the usual place for still picture content, but more broadband connections will simply mean more video.

On the billing front, SMS was the buzz in 2004. In most non-American markets, credit cards are not the preferred method of payment for online porn buyers. In the past, dialers have been used to allow people to pay for porn – but dialers have been abused by scam artists, leaving less consumers comfortable with downloading the necessary software onto their machines. Dialers have even been banned in several key markets. Allowing consumers to pay for adult site access through sending premium text messages from their cell phones could be the solution that replaces dialers.

And good news… all was quiet in America on the VISA and MasterCard front. The AVS business model continued to see changes stemming from VISA’s policy modifications in 2003, but little news from the credit card billing department is generally a good thing for webmasters who sell in the American marketplace.

Email marketing saw significant changes in 2004. In the wake of the CAN-SPAM Act and a variety of high-profile legal cases, spam declined in 2004. According to AOL, porn-related spams dropped in 2004, and those that did come through often included only links to outside porn sites rather than imbedded images. However, a troubling development was the increase in density of scam attempts.

Security was at the forefront of the 2004 internet landscape. Between phishing scams, new virus technologies, trojans, worms and high-profile attacks on certain internet firms, the technology industry in general was forced to put more focus into securing their virtual networks. 2004 saw the first known virus that could spread on Windows-based machines through JPG image files – a security hole that should now be closed for users with updated software.

Finally, when one thinks of the adult industry in 2004 one unfortunately has to remember the HIV outbreak that resulted in several actors being infected with the AIDS virus. The outbreak was contained rather quickly, but that certainly comes as a small consolation to those few who were infected.

To sum up, the key developments in 2004 were: no massive obscenity attack, the hiring of Bruce Taylor, the departure of Ashcroft, the proposed changes to 18 U.S.C. 2257, the rise of broadband connections, the decline in porn spam, the promise of SMS billing, the HIV outbreak, and the increasing importance of security. To those of you who thrived, congratulations! More of that for all of us in 2005.

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. Connor can be reached at connor@ynot.com.