John Berlin

As you probably know by now, United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has signed the final rule revising the regulations that implement the 2257 law, known officially as 18 U.S.C. § 2257, and the revised 2257 regulations were published May 24, 2005 in the Federal Register. The revised regulations will be in effect June 23, 2005 and they will have a significant impact on adult web site operators. In summary, the revised regulations have stringent record- and information- keeping requirements for all producers and secondary producers of explicit sexual content, including website operators, requiring all webmasters who handle content to maintain thorough records of age verification on each performer. Furthermore, all associated URLs must be identified for each iteration of each image in every instance of every publication. Additionally, the revised regulations require primary and secondary producers to make records and information available for inspection from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., 365 days a year. Obviously, the Justice Department is intending to use the revised 2257 law to crack down on the porn industry, especially webmasters. 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. It is imperative for webmasters to take action to assure compliance. In fact, third party companies, including Zofex, Inc., are offering record- and information- keeping services to producers. Whether you use such a service or do it yourself, make sure you are in compliance!