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VIDEO VOYEUR BAN PASSED BY HOUSE
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill outlawing illicit video and still photo voyeurism on federal property. The Video Voyeurism Prevention Act contains only minor changes from the Senate version, so that the legislation is expected to go quickly to President Bush for signature. Although the law only forbids so-called “upskirt” photos and “cyber peeking” on federal land, it is intended to serve as model law, so that states can pass similar legislation that could presumably include any public area. Violators could face fines up to $100,000 with possible jail time of up to one year.
        The bill prohibits photography of certain parts of an individual’s unclothed body or undergarments without his or her consent, targeting, for example, fetish photographs taken from cameras mounted on shoe tops, as well as hidden cameras in bedrooms, bathrooms, public showers, locker rooms and tanning salons. Miniature lenses and cell phone cameras, combined with the widespread sharing of surreptitious images on the Internet, have created a sort of voyeuristic sport. However, many victims are not amused.
        “For the victim, it’s embarrassing and degrading to be photographed in a compromised position. It’s an invasion of personal privacy,” said the bill’s author Mike Oxley (R-Ohio).
From Roy Mark, Internet News, 9/22/04
http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3411121
And from Jim Abrams, Associated Press, 9/22/04
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/ethics/2004-09-22-house-no-peeking_x.htm?POE=TECISVA
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STATE VOYEUR BILLS: 1 SIGNED, 1 VETOED
SACRAMENTO, CA – Feeling no apparent need to wait for model federal legislation (see above report) Governor Schwarzenegger has signed a bill sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman, (R-Fullerton) making it a misdemeanor to secretly film or photograph someone in a state of undress.
        At the same time, Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation by Assemblymember Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) that would have outlawed the placement of cameras in a home without the occupant’s consent. The governor said Jackson’s bill could criminalize “otherwise innocent video recording” of… “private or embarrassing conduct.”
From Steve Lawrence, Associated Press, 9/21/04
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-09-21-calif-grab-bag_x.htm
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ANTI-PIRACY BILL SIGNED
SACRAMENTO, CA -- Governor Schwarzenegger has signed a bill by Senator Kevin Murray (D-Culver City) making it a misdemeanor, with some exceptions, for someone to disseminate a recording or video through the Internet without including his or her street or e-mail address. The law is designed to discourage pirating of music and motion pictures and was supported by the Motion Picture Association of America.
From Steve Lawrence, Associated Press, 9/21/04
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-09-21-calif-grab-bag_x.htm
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CBS BARED-BREAST FINE IS OFFICIAL – NOW WHAT?
WASHINGTON, DC – Recently we reported that the Federal Communications Commission had decided on fines for CBS stations that aired Janet Jackson’s split second bare breast flash in the February Super Bowl half-time show. Now it is official. CBS, a division of Viacom, has been ordered to pay $550,000.
        But are they going to pay it? Last summer, Leslie Moonves, CEO of CBS, said the company would oppose a fine. Now, after getting the official notice of the fine, CBS network issued a statement saying, “While we regret that the incident occurred and have apologized to our viewers, we continue to believe that nothing in the Super Bowl broadcast violated indecency laws. We are reviewing all of our options to respond to the ruling.”
        Viacom can pay and then appeal the decision. Or they can refuse to pay and the FCC can go to U.S. District Court to seek collection. Once in the courts, of course, issues of the constitutionality of the FCC’s actions will be scrutinized. Some First Amendment experts have already weighed in on the issue.
        “It raises serious First Amendment concerns in light of the flow of American culture today,” said Rodney A. Smolla, Dean of the University of Richmond Law School. “That one fleeting incident does not rise to the level of offensiveness that ought to empower the government to engage is such a punitive action,” he said.
From Geraldine Fabrikant, The New York Times, 9/23/04
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2810246
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SPAM BOUNTY-HUNTER IDEA ENDORSED
WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has concluded that providing monetary rewards for turning in spammers could work in some cases. The FTC suggested rewards ranging from $100,000 to $250,000 for “high-value” information such as that which might be provided by employees in a spammer’s organization, or perhaps by friends or family members.
        Why such high bounties? Well, says the FTC, employees of spammers would be justifiably concerned about the loss of their own income if the company they work for was closed because of spam arrests. Also, they could lose their jobs if word got out that they provided the critical information.
        Not everyone agrees with the FTC. Pete Kosmala, assistant director of the Email Service Provider Coalition, says his organization, while being very anti-spam, does not think this proposal is a good idea. He says legitimate businesses could be adversely affected by spam whistleblowers. On the other hand, Les Seagraves, chief privacy officer at EarthLink, said his organization is in favor of the bounty concept.
        The FTC is sending detailed recommendations to Congress, proposing that the bounty for spammers be made law.
From Wayne Rash, E-Week - Enterprise News, 9/17/04
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1647398,00.asp
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ADULT VIDEO/PROSTITUTION TRIAL TO BEGIN
ST. LOUIS, MO – Adult Video Director Isaac (Ike) Sandlin goes to trial this week, charged with promoting prostitution by trying to recruit performers for an adult video. In California, where most adult videos are produced, legal questions of this kind were resolved in 1987, when the California Supreme Court ruled in People v. Freeman that paying someone to perform sexually explicit acts on film or videotape was not pandering, and that the performance itself was not prostitution.
        Although Missouri is not California, and although no jury trial is certain, Sandlin’s Attorney Robert Herman outlined reasons for optimism in an interview with AVN’s Mark Kernes.
From Mark Kernes, Adult Video News, 9/16/04
http://www.avn.com/index.php?Primary_Navigation=Articles&
Action=View_Article&Content_ID=191988
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AN ADULT BUSINESS OWNER WHO KNOWS THE LAW
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FL – Long-time adult industry and First Amendment Attorney David A. Wasserman wasted no time when he decided to become an adult business entrepreneur here. On the same day that he opened Intimate Moments -- a boutique selling lingerie and adult videos and DVDs -- Wasserman filed a federal lawsuit declaring that New Smyrna’s restrictions against adult-entertainment businesses are unconstitutional.
        The lawsuit is a means of preemptively protecting myself so they don’t walk in and arrest me,” Wasserman explained.
        The store is operating without the city’s required adult-entertainment license, a retail license, or a certificate of occupancy. However, as Wasserman asserts in his lawsuit, the city’s regulations are so restrictive that it has precluded any adult business from operating since 1997. For example, the city requires that any adult business be at least 500 feet from the right of way of any road, but it would be impossible to run a business without being near a road, he said. He also said the city rules lack a speedy determination as to whether the adult-entertainment license is rejected or denied and a prompt means to appeal the city’s decision.
From Ludmilla Lelis, Orlando Sentinel, 9/23/04
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/orl-locporn23092304sep23,1,1988037.story?coll=orl-home-headlines
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HIRED-GUN BROUGHT IN BY TOWN
ARCADIA, NY -- Attorney Michael DePrimo, senior litigation counsel for the American Family Association’s Center for Law & Policy, was invited here for a heavily attended town board meeting to discuss Dominique’s Showgirls, an adult entertainment club that wants to come to Arcadia, with plans to feature nude dancers, video rentals, sexually oriented product sales and a juice bar with a completely nude staff.
        DePrimo cited studies showing that unregulated adult entertainment is tied to occurrences of sex-related crimes, anonymous sexual encounters, and the spread of communicable diseases. In addition, he said, nude dancing increased the chances of drug use, sexual assault, and rape.
        According to DePrimo, adult businesses can’t be kept out, but they can be regulated through zoning, licensing, and restricting specific types of conduct. He also offered practical suggestions, saying that citizens could picket the business on public property and then post in local grocery stores the license plate numbers of cars driven by those patronizing the establishment.
        Dominique’s Showgirls owner Mike Grande disputed DePrimo’s comments, calling them “idiocy,” and promised that misconceptions would be put to rest once the club opened.
From Jody Brown, the Christian Right’s Agape Press, 9/16/04
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/9/162004d.asp
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SEPT 30-OCT 2 -- Chicago Adventure & Erotic Fair
http://www.chicagoadventure.org/Chicago_Adventure_-_A_Lifestyl/chicago_adventure_-_a_lifestyl.html

OCT 10 – AdultCon,  Los Angeles, CA  www.adultcon.com
 
OCT  28-31 -- Everything To Do With Sex Show
Toronto, Canada, www.everythingtodowithsex.com
 
JAN 4-6 – Internext, Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas, NV
  http://www.internext-expo.com/.html
 
JAN 6-9, 2005 -- AVN Adult Entertainment Expo, Las Vegas, NV www.homeentertainmentevents.com

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