I took a look at the actual legalese that is the Title 18 U.S.C Section 2257. Like most legalese, it is hard to read, is extremely cumbersome to understand, and makes you wonder if the courts come up with the confusing wording on purpose. But like most legalese, one has to understand that if the time is taken to go meticulously over the verbage, it clearly defines what you are obligated to do if you are electing to produce and distribute adult content for public consumption…or actually, in this case, not.

I am no lawyer, nor do I want you to think that I have any legal background whatsoever.  The 2257 legislation is constantly being amended and appealed, so what I write here today may have changed by next summer.  With that said, there are four main obligations mentioned in the 2257. Since no matter how hard I’ve tried, I can’t simplify them any shorter than I have, I’m going to post this in two separate sections:

1) The Duty to Identify and Inquire

Producers are required to obtain, examine, and create a legible copy (either by photocopy, scan, or photograph) of the performer’s ID, which must clearly have the performer’s name and date of birth. One photo ID is required; a secondary ID does not have to contain a photo. The 2004 amendments to this requirement has restricted the photo ID requirement so that it must “be accessed from an issuing authority”. A birth certificate, Social Security card, or credit card (although personally not recommended for reasons of possible fraud) are acceptable secondary IDs as long as the first ID is a picture ID from an issuing authority (which usually means a state-issued driver’s license).

2) The Duty to Create and Maintain Retrievable Records

The producers must create certain records of the name and date of birth of the performers. These records must contain information not only of the performer but also of the work (usually the producer’s name and place of business). These records must be maintained at the producer’s place of business for a period of five years after the dissolution of any business for which the content may be used. The Regulation actually states that the records have to be maintained for a period of seven years after the content was created, but since the Regulation also says that the records must be kept for five years after the dissolution of the business, that’s probably the requirement that should be followed. (Now you can see why going through the legal verbage gets messy.) There is currently nothing in the Regulation that stipulates what happens should the records get destroyed in a fire or some other Act of God. (I’ll be posting at a later date as to electronic methods for 2257 recordkeeping, which is great for producers of megasites.)

There is a much-debated section of the 2257 due to its confusing verbage, especially since it seems that the writers of the Regulation didn’t really have a full grasp of internet pornography when it was written (or may still not have a full grasp, given how the internet is constantly changing and evolving). Currently the Regulation requires producers to associate every content element (that is, every scene) created after May 26, 1992, to have individual sets of required records. The problem with this bit of wording is that a lot of content producers (such as Sensational Video) will reuse one scene in several different places – DVDs, website content, streaming video, VOD, etc. Some companies will use a scene shot for the purpose of one DVD in several other DVDs as well. In addition, URLs of websites can and do change over time, as well as directories of those websites. It potentially creates a need for a huge backlog of paperwork – say one scene is used in 3 DVDs as well as 2 websites, 4 clip sites and 1 VOD site. Under the current regulation, the wording could mean that there is only 1 set of paperwork required (for the initial scene that was shot). It could also mean that the producer has to create 1 set of paperwork for each version of the scene that is presented to the public – in this case, 10 sets of the same paperwork, except for the name of the product that the scene is used in. You can see where this might get not only confusing but burdensome as well, especially when the actual 2257 paperwork must be an original, and as Section 75.2 (e) states, “the set of required records be maintained as a discrete entity, apart from others, included in to others, and contained in no others.”

**Disclaimer** I’m not a lawyer! Should you have any legal questions, please consult an attorney specializing in 2257 legislation (I can direct you to several if you would like). Although this information is meant to be educational and informative in nature, laws are constantly changing. Only a lawyer can provide you with specific advice to rely on. I cannot be held responsible for (1) any person’s reliance on the information provided in this post, whether or not the information is correct, current or complete, nor (2) the consequences of any action you or any other person takes or fails to take, whether or not based on the information provided by or as a result of the use of the information provided in this post.

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