Hosted at the XBIZ State of the Industry Conference by adult industry trade association the Free Speech Coalition, the special forum was designed to discuss recommendations for 2257 third-party record-keepers.
FSC Executive Director Diane Duke, who moderated the forum, said her goal for the event was to determine if there is demand for these kinds of recommendations, and if so, who the best people are to facilitate their development.
“There are a couple of things we're trying to do,” Duke told XBIZ. “We want to bring people together around the issue of third-party records and the significant changes that have happened with the 2257 regulations. Any time we get those changes, we get a lot of calls at the office, so we want to see if there is a desire to have some recommendations regarding how to comply with the new third-party records rules, whether you're somebody who keeps records, or you're looking for somebody to be your third-party records keeper.”
“The people that keep records do not necessarily need to be producers,” FSC attorney Reed Lee said, as he outlined the history of 2257, the Coalition’s involvement in shaping the statute and the most likely scenarios for implementing 3rd party record-keeping.
“There are open questions, ambiguities and curiosities in the new regulations,” Lee added — citing the new opportunities and potential pitfalls in assigning someone else to hold such important information for you and your company.
“This has enormous benefits for the industry and also makes the FBI’s job of conducting inspections easier,” FSC attorney Jeffrey Douglas offered, discussing how efficiencies brought to the inspection regimen by 3rd-party record-keepers could benefit everyone.
Questions about liability in the event of data errors or omissions were addressed as was the topic of certification of record-keepers; voluntary standardization of record formats; succession issues over the longevity of record-keepers (an important issue given the five year records maintenance requirement); and the possibility of insurance policies to cover legal expenses in the event of a problem with the records.
“There is no contract that can assign legal liability from one person to another,” Douglas reminded attendees contemplating insurance as a panacea for protection.
Following the introductory speeches and question-and-answer session, the group broke up into individual roundtables, covering legal issues; software solutions for record-keeping; 3rd-party record-keepers; and the needs of primary and secondary producers.
Duke believes the organization needs to provide essential resources like this to help industry members successfully run and maintain their adult businesses. XBIZ supports this goal and assisted in hosting the event.
"XBIZ is pleased to offer this special opportunity to learn what 2257 regulation developments are in store for third-party record-keepers," XBIZ President Alec Helmy said. "Our full slate of informational sessions and special events at State of the Industry Conference will deliver unprecedented value to this year’s attendees."
The forum was open to all interested parties, regardless of FSC membership status or their registered attendance at the XBIZ Conference. For more information about the FSC, visit FreeSpeechCoalition.com.
