NL- There are so many informative articles on Fattorosi’s website, you should go there and read them for yourself. But here is one about couples webcamming and being in trouble for not using a condom. Just shows how ridiculous this proposed law is.
from http://adultbizlaw.com/condoms-in-porn-law-and-web-camming-part-2-arrest-and-fines/
“Condoms in Porn” Law and Web Camming: Part 2 Arrest and Fines
by Michael Fattorosi
In Part 2 I will explain what potential criminal sanctions and fines a non-compliant couple may face if they do not secure a Department of Health permit and use barrier protection in their shows.
Many assume that being able to locate a couple camming in the privacy of their own home would be almost impossible for the police or the Department of Health who will be performing the compliance inspections. This is simply not true. Rather it is easier to enforce this law against a couple camming from home then a porn production company on location.
As part of the sign up process on most camsites a couple would have to provide an address. For argument’s sake let us assume that they provided their home address. Their stationary filming location could be discovered through the subpoena process. All that the Department of Health would have to do is to open a criminal investigation, have the City Attorney/District Attorney file charges against the couple using their “stage names” and have the City Attorney/District Attorney issue a subpoena to the cam site demanding all information pertaining to a their account. The cam site certainly cannot stand in the way of a legal subpoena from a law enforcement official nor would they.
Thus, with one simple subpoena the Department of Health can easily have a couple’s home address.
How likely is this scenario ? Quite likely actually. I represent several porn studios that have been inspected for film permits for shooting boy-girl web cam shows. Some of the locations of these studios are private residences. There would be little chance of law enforcement knowing of these locations unless they were able to secure the exact address. How they came to find out the exact location is still a mystery. Law enforcement did not tell any of them how they located them.
However, a Los Angeles police officer actually told one of my clients that they were familiar with his company’s web cam shows and actually watched them live on one particular cam site network. I suspect that they found this studio’s location through the subpoena process however I cannot state that with certainty.
If it is that easy to locate a couple the question then becomes would they enforce this against them directly. That is unknown. None the less it is important for couples that cam to be aware of this law and what potential penalties exist if they do enforce it against them. The law dictates that anyone that violates the provisions be subject to imprisonment for up to 6 months, a criminal fine of up to $1000.00 and a civil fine of up to $500.00;
“Condoms in Porn” Law and Web Camming: Part 2 Arrest and Fines
Further, each additional show can be plead as a separate and distinct violation. So if a couple does six shows over the course of a month they can be prosecuted and fined on six separate charges and face significant jail time and monetary penalties.
The point of this article is not to scare but rather inform. And to hopefully make those that are not involved in the mainstream pornography business realize that the same laws that affect those businesses also affect even small independent amateur producers and even web cam performers (For example 18 U.S.C 2257). The “Condoms in Porn” law is just another law that will negatively impact free expression of sexuality. Please educate yourself and read Ballot Measure B.