2257 UPDATE
CHATSWORTH, CA -- Certain of the confusing aspects of the federal recordkeeping and labeling act, 18 U.S.C. §2257 have been partially clarified as a result of interrogatories submitted to the Department of Justice by FSC attorneys. Key questions were answered in a July 18 letter from DOJ attorney Samuel C. Kaplan to FSC attorney Louis Sirkin.
         The DOJ clarifications required yet more clarification by FSC attorneys before they started to resemble English for lay readers. Once translated, however, some reassuring aspects of how the DOJ plans to interpret and enforce the law’s provisions came to light. Some “clarifications” appear to be significant concessions, especially pertaining to retroactivity, “date of production” and shooting overseas.
         The official position of the Attorney General on certain aspects of 2257 enforcement is now described as follows:
         Domestic producers who travel outside the United States to record images of sexually explicit conduct may rely on foreign government issued passports.
         The requirement that a “copy of the depiction” must be maintained does not apply to materials recorded prior to June 23, 2005.
         The requirement that the “date of production, manufacture, publication, duplication, reproduction, or re-issuance” be identified on the label is satisfied by stating the last date of filming, and characterizing that as the date of production.
         Material produced before June 23, 2005, that was compliant with the old regulations may continue to be marketed without fear of prosecution under the new regulations.
         The term “actually sexually explicit conduct” does not include “lascivious exhibition of the genitals” (i.e., mere nudity).
         A website containing no depictions of “actually sexually explicit conduct ” that provides hyperlinks to a third-party website that does contain such material has no record-keeping obligations.
From a copy of the DOJ letter posted on the FSC website
http://www.freespeechcoalition.com/pdf/DOJjuly18.pdf
And from Kathee Brewer, AVN Online, 8/10/05
http://www.avnonline.com/articles/236344.html
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UPDATE ON NEW E-MAIL REGISTRY LAWS
       MICHIGAN AND UTAH -- New laws in two states requiring commercial e-mailers to check their mailing lists against state “child protection” registries were scheduled to take effect this month. However, while the Utah law is set to activate on August 15, the Michigan law has been put on indefinite hold. Both laws are transparently intended more for potential revenues than actual protection of children, since they impact legitimate commercial e-mailers but will have no effect on illegal spam.
       The revenue base of the laws consists of fees that will be charged for checking e-mail addresses against the registries. For large e-mailings the fees could add up to very substantial amounts, and the penalties for noncompliance are severe. E-mailers who send to addresses on the registry in Utah can be liable for a $30,000 fine, plus $1,000 for each message, and up to three years in jail. Michigan violators may also have to pay $250,000 for each day they are in violation.
       Both the Michigan and Utah laws are viewed by many as being pre-empted by the federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, and will almost certainly face legal challenges.
From Brian Quinton, DirectMag.com, 6/30/05
http://www.directmag.com/news/topstory/dont-mail-kids-070105/
And from Brian Livingston, ITmanagement, 8/9/05
http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/columns/executive_tech/article.php/3526181
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ANOTHER STATE CONSIDERS ADULT “SIN” TAX
KANSAS -- Kansas lawmakers are considering a “sin” tax on adult entertainment. The effort is being led by Representative Shari Weber (R-Herington), who is working on a proposal with anti-adult gadfly Phillip Cosby of Citizens for Strengthening Community Values.
      Asked if she wanted to impose a tax large enough to cause these businesses to close, Weber said: “That’s definitely part of the mix. These places are harmful.”
      “Sin” tax proposals have a mixed record of passing in other states. A proposal in Texas failed to get off the ground, while a plan in Oklahoma did not make it through the legislatures. Utah imposed such a tax in 2004, but it has been challenged by clubs and an escort service.
      A recent “sin” tax proposal in Missouri was bundled with strict regulations on exotic dance clubs and adult video stores. The tax part of the bill would have imposed a $5-per-person entrance fee on “sexually oriented” businesses and a 20 percent tax on the adjusted gross receipts of adult businesses. The tax provision would have applied to exotic dance clubs and any business with a “substantial” portion of sexually oriented products. The regulations became law (currently being challenged. See following report.) but the tax provision was bottled up in the Missouri House after passing the Senate.
      Missouri House Republican Bob Johnson explained his objection to the Missouri version of the “sin” tax. He said the bill wasn’t specific enough on how the tax would be applied and who would have to pay it. For example, he said some lawmakers wondered whether Priscilla’s, which sells provocative lingerie as well as sex toys, would fall under the law. And if Priscilla’s qualified, he asked, what about Victoria’s Secret?
      Johnson said other conservative House members objected to funding schools based on a “pornography tax.” Similar issues could create problems for lawmakers wanting to pass such a measure in Kansas.
From Jim Sullinger, Kansas City Star, 8/5/05
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/12298431.htm
Thanks also to Woodhull Freedom Foundation for a news alert.
www.woodhullfoundation.org
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ADULT ENTERTAINMENT LAW CHALLENGED
       COLE COUNTY, MO -- A lawsuit has been filed in circuit court here challenging the new Missouri adult entertainment law as being in violation of the state constitution. Plaintiffs are the Missouri Association of Club Executives (ACE), Scope Pictures of Missouri, Bazooka’s Exotic Dance Club, Passions Video, a sales clerk at one of Passions’ stores, three exotic dancers and an exotic dance club patron identified as John Doe.
        The lawsuit contends that the law is unrelated to the original purpose of the bill that was signed into law, which was to toughen the state’s drunken driving laws. That would make the law unconstitutional, the lawsuit argues, because the state constitution says that bills cannot be amended to change their original purpose.
      “We’re hopeful that the court will quickly rule on this,” said Kansas City lawyer Dick Bryant, an attorney for the industry. “We’re looking for it to give us a preliminary and permanent injunction that will allow us to carry on the business of constitutionally protected First Amendment expression.”
       Among other provisions, the new law bans full nudity and lap dances in exotic dance clubs. Semi-nude dancers must remain at least 10 feet from customers and behind a 2-foot-high railing. The law prohibits dancers from touching customers.
       The law also prohibits customers and employees younger than 21 at adult-oriented establishments. The sales clerk, dancers and patron co-plaintiffs in the action are all under age 21.
From The Kansas City Star, 8/10/05
http://myac.yellowbrix.com/pages/myac/Story.nsp?story_id=
77996680&ID=myac&scategory=Entertainment&
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SPAMMER TAPPED IN MICROSOFT ACTION
       SEATTLE, WA -- In a settlement, Scott Richter, once ranked as the third biggest spammer of them all, has agreed to pay Microsoft Corporation $7 million. Richter and his company, OptInRealBig.com also agreed to comply with federal and state laws in the future, including the federal CAN-SPAM Act. Richter and company further pledged not to send e-mail to anyone who has not confirmed a willingness to receive it and to let authorities monitor the business for three years to make sure it does not send any illegal spam.
       The deal is the second settlement stemming from joint lawsuits Microsoft and New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed after Microsoft set “spam traps” that netted thousands of messages containing fraudulent statements in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act.
       “People engage in spam to make money,” said Brad Smith, Microsoft’s chief counsel. “We have now proven that we can take one of the most profitable spammers in the world and separate him from his money. And I think that sends a powerful message to other people who might be tempted to engage in illegal spam.”
From The Washington Times, 8/10/05
http://washingtontimes.com/business/20050809-094447-9198r.htm
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BIBLICAL ACTIVIST APPOINTED AT FCC
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Federal Communications Commission has hired Penny Young Nance -- a well-known activist for Christian Right issues and a vocal critic of racy content in broadcast programming -- as an advisor in its office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis. There, Nance will serve as a liaison with Capitol Hill, the broadcast industry and activist groups.
      Nance once worked as a lobbyist for Concerned Women for America (CWA) and until recently was on the organization’s board of directors. CWA describes its mission as working “to bring Biblical principles into all levels of public policy.”
       This highly ideological appointment suggests that the FCC may be readying another wave of broadcast indecency fines. The commission proposed 12 major fines in 2004 totaling $3.7 but has so-far not issued an indecency fine in 2005.
From Chris Baker, The Washington Times, 8/10/05
http://washingtontimes.com/business/20050809-094451-9282r.htm
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ADULT OWNER WINS EMINENT DOMAIN CASE
       TAMPA, FL -- Joe Redner, exotic dance club owner, free speech champion and long-time nemesis of the Tampa City Council, has beaten the state of Florida this time around, in an eminent domain jury-trial case. The Department of Transportation -- which now must pay Redner $6.8 million -- had offered him half that much for land which was the site of two of Redner’s exotic dance clubs, Scarlett’s and O’Harra’s. The state needed the land for a freeway interchange project.
        Stating that the property was worth much more than $3.4 million, Redner challenged the state’s eminent domain bid in court, and won after a two-week jury trial.
       Redner argued successfully that the property’s value should be based on income from the adult clubs, which is more significant than for typical commercial uses of land in the area. Adult venues are more valuable, his reasoning went, because zoning for the clubs is stringent, leaving few available locations.
       “When you have a restaurant, you can find comparable pieces of property in terms of traffic, exposure, view and all those things,” Redner said. “But adult businesses have no place to go.”
From The Tampa Tribune, 8/9/05
http://blackenterprise.yellowbrix.com/pages/blackenterprise/Story.nsp?
story_id=78001405&ID=blackenterprise&scategory=Real+Estate&
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UpComing Events

AUG 23-27, – Annual Gentlemen’s Club Expo, Madalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas, NV http://www.exoticdancer.com/expo.php

AUG 31-SEPT 5, – Southern Decadence, New Orleans, LA, http://www.southerndecadence.net/

SEPT 2-4, – Qwebec Expo 2005, Montreal QC, http://www.qwebec.com/

SEPT 5-9, – FSC Industry Retreat

SEPT 29, – FSC Membership Meeting, Warner Center Marriott, Woodland Hills, CA, 818-348-9373

OCT 5-9, – 13th Barcelona International Erotic Film Festival http://www.ficeb.com

OCT 9, – Tampa Show 2005 Caravan Of Stars http://www.tampashow.com/