US Sex Sells News

 Adult film maker John Stagliano (Buttman) issued the following statement decrying the recent attacks on personal liberties by moral crusaders:

This week, the group 'Pornography Harms' continued its campaign to ban free speech and adult entertainment through a letter circulated around Capitol Hill with the goal of spurring elected officials into enacting the group's dangerous agenda. The letter cites worn-out and debunked claims that view.

Recent statistics show those claims simply are not true. A study from a Clemson University economist showed that violent and sexual crimes have actually decreased as Internet usages have increased. The study's author found that states whose Internet access expanded the fastest saw rapes and sexual crimes decline the most.

We are tired of being slandered. It is apparent that if people are left free to consume pornography, if they so choose, the world is a healthier, less violent place.'

In 2008, the Department of Justice's Obscenity Prosecution Task Force brought charges against Stagliano in a trial which gained national attention over its free speech implications. In July of 2010, the trial ended in a Judicial Acquittal after the Judge ruled there wasn't sufficient evidence presented by the prosecution to convict. Groups such as Pornography Harms have lobbied government agencies and elected officials to continue to stifle first amendment / free speech rights through similar prosecutions.

The recent Pornography Harms letter urges readers to donate to Morality in Media, an organization with a long history of First Amendment suppression tactics and alignment with other censorship driven groups. They have frequently used similar outlandish claims and factual distortions as part of their extremist agenda, such as claiming there's a link between gay marriage and mass killings. If these anti-speech activists are initially successful with their censorship agenda, they won't stop until they have turned all broadcasts and publications in line with their narrow worldview.

The only real violence involved is prosecuting someone like me with an obscenity law, a law that you can't know in advance when you are breaking it.'

On Friday, the Los Angles City Council voted unanimously on a motion to instruct the City Attorney to explore the feasibility of conditioning the issuance of film permits granted under City authority to the use of condoms in adult film productions.

The motion, introduced by Councilmember Bill Rosendahl at a Council meeting in mid-December, now directs the city Attorney to, ...report back within 45 days to explain the mechanisms necessary to enable the City's film permit process to require workplace safety in the production of all adult films.

We commend Councilmember Rosendahl and the entire City Council for their unanimous vote in favor of this legal study to explore making adult film permits conditional on the use of condoms in adult films, said Michael Weinstein, President of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. Under existing California law, condoms are already required in the production of adult films, yet the industry remains convinced it is above the law. This City Council action is a step toward better enforcement and oversight to safeguard the health and safety of adult film workers. Tying condom use to adult-film production permits is absolutely the responsible thing to do, protecting adult film industry performers who---under the current system of testing---are routinely asked to risk their lives and health in order to continue working.

A San Fernando Valley clinic that caters to porn stars has re-opened after being forced to close for operating under the wrong type of license.

Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation spokeswoman Jennifer Miller says the clinic is now a private corporation, instead of a non-profit operating under a physician's license.

The clinic is a preferred medical provider of many actors in the porn industry, providing a discreet environment for frequent HIV tests.

Super Bowl Sunday, is being dubbed Porn Sunday by more than 300 pastors, who will talk openly about pornography with their congregations.

Event organizer Craig Gross, founder of XXXchurch.com, said the centerpiece of Porn Sunday will be a 39-minute video featuring him and several NFL players talking openly about the problems created by the $13 billion-per-year industry.

About 95 million people will watch the Super Bowl, Gross said, but research indicates that 40 million people visit porn websites every day. And 47% of Christians say pornography is a problem in the home. Porn revenue, he said, is bigger than the combined revenues of football, baseball and basketball leagues in this country.

But pornhub.com, which describes itself as the leading provider of adult content online, believes these types of public discussions lead to greater awareness of adult offerings online and likely will result in greater traffic on the site, Pornhub marketing Vice President Corey Price said.

Free porn has a lot to answer for in terms of a negative effect on the adult industry, but it isn't against the law as Kevin Cammarata found out.

He made a complaint against Redtube.com owner Bright Imperial Limited of Hong Kong claiming: The ubiquitous distribution of free adult videos through redtube.com has had a massive negative impact on the business model of adult website proprietors. Now that consumers have the ability to watch high quality adult videos for free on redtube.com, fewer are making the choice to pay other adult website proprietors for the same content.

He claimed that Redtube.com has caused many millions of dollars of damages to proprietors of adult entertainment websites and was a violation of California's Unfair Practices Act.

This case was nothing to do with copyright violations. The free videos are all legal and are basically trailers tempting people to buy subscriptions and the like. Presumably the law cited is to prevent 'dumping' where an entity drives competitors out of business by selling at impossibly low prices with a view to cleaning up later.

The Appeals Court's ruling showed some initial sympathy for Cammarata's grievance which is common among porn producers. According to one adult entertainment executive, the formerly profitable subscription-based websites 'have been brought to their knees' by the tube-based sites, they observed. But the justices could find no evidence that Redtube's marketing strategy had anything to do with putting Cammarata out of business so dismissed the charges.

If Cammarata's subscription-based website lost revenue after Redtube and other tube-based websites came on the scene it was because the tube-based business model is more efficient, not because of alleged predatory pricing by Bright, the court concluded.

Following news reports that an unnamed hotel chain customer of in-room television provider LodgeNet was planning to phase out in-room porn, Marriott said that it was the chain in question.

But the company announcement also strongly implied, though it did not actually state, that existing rooms will continue to serve up adult fare while new rooms being built over the next several years will not.

Indeed, the announcement made to USA Today actually augurs more access to adult content in Marriott rooms in the future rather than less. Considering the company's stated commitment to upgrading in-room technologies that will supersede the traditional way in which video and other in-room entertainment has been made available to its customers, guests can look forward to unlimited access to desired content of all types.

The company said in response to a query by USA Today:

It is our practice to keep adult content out of the reach of children and unavailable to any adult who chooses not to view it. We have strong controls in place that allow guests to block these materials. Changing technology and how guests access entertainment has reduced the revenue hotels and their owners derive from in-room movies, including adult content. We are working with in-room entertainment providers and technology vendors to transition to the next generation of in-room entertainment. This new platform of Internet-based video-on-demand will facilitate our exit from the traditional hotel video systems that included adult content in the menu selection, and will also provide guests greater choice and control over what they watch across our system.

In a confusing statement perhaps referring to to existing hotel movie service, Marriott added:

As we transition to this new platform, adult content will be off the menu for virtually all of our newly built hotels. Over the next few years, this will be the policy across our system.

There are headlines flying around the internet suggesting that Apple censors have relented and allowed a soft porn app onto iPad.

However closer inspection shows that this is simply not the case and Apple continue their crusade for technology for kids.

A Playboy spokesperson clarified the news for Forbes.

We are releasing a web-based subscription service with Bondi Digital Publishing that will give users access to every issue of Playboy both past and present. The service will be iPad compatible and will utilize iPad functions.

We also have plans to release a non-nude version of a Playboy-branded iPad app in the coming months that adheres to all of Apple's policies and guidelines.