Wall Street Journal Covers 2257 Battle

WASHINGTON — In a lengthy article published Monday in the Wall Street Journal, staff reporter David Kesmodel details the controversial legal battle between the adult industry and the federal government’s U.S.C. 18 § 2257 record-keeping laws.

Although the record-keeping regulations have been of major concern to many in the adult community, mainstream press have given the bill scant attention over the past year, despite the fact that many in the adult world say overregulation — from 2257 and other proposed bills — would effectively shut them down.

In his article, Kesmodel writes about the Free Speech Coalition’s ongoing legal battle on behalf of the adult community and speaks with several webmasters who say their businesses already have suffered because of the bill. Quoting Mark Prince at webcam company 2much Internet Services, Kesmodel writes that several “performers have quit over privacy concerns since their information could be shared with other adult sites.”

Kesmodel goes on to highlight AEBN’s Scott Coffman’s frustration with the law. Now only has Coffman spent more than $300,000 trying to get his online retail site to comply with 2257, he says several filmmakers simply refuse to give up actor information. The end result: only about half of AEBN’s 40,000 films have complete records.

“I don't see how me and another 10,000 sites storing the records helps,” Coffman is quoted as saying. “The only records I'm storing are what the manufacturers are giving me.”

Citing Wall Street Journal policy, Kesmodel could not speak with XBiz as to why the paper chose to cover the 2257 issue.

The full text of his article can be read here.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

RM11 Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

RM11 has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Mark Spiegler Named XBIZ Talk Guest for 2026 LA Conference

XBIZ is pleased to announce that famed talent agent Mark Spiegler, impresario of the Spiegler Girls agency, will join an exclusive talk session at XBIZ 2026, the latest edition of North America’s largest adult industry conference, set to take place Jan. 12-15 at the Kimpton Everly Hotel in Hollywood.

Gataca Introduces Passkey Integration

Spain-based age verification provider Gataca has debuted its new passkey integration.

GloryPay Announces New Financial App

European fintech company GloryPay has announced the launch of its financial app for industry members.

Creator of Hentaied, Parasited Launches New Site 'MonsterPorn'

Romero Mr. Alien, the creator of Parasited and Hentaied, has launched new paysite MonsterPorn.com.

House of Lords Approves UK Plan to Outlaw 'Choking' Content

The House of Lords, the U.K.’s upper house of Parliament, has agreed to amendments to the pending Crime and Policing Bill that would make depicting “choking” in pornography illegal and designate it a “priority offense” under the Online Safety Act.

Indiana Sues Aylo Over AV, Calls IP Address Blocking 'Insufficient'

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has filed a lawsuit against Aylo, alleging that the company and its affiliates have violated both Indiana’s age verification law and the state’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act.

House Committee Amends, Advances Federal AV Bill

A U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee voted Thursday to amend the SCREEN Act, which would make site-based age verification of users seeking to access adult content federal law, and to advance the bill for review by the full Committee on Energy and Commerce.

New AI Companion Platform 'SinfulXAI' Launches

SinfulXAI, a new AI companion platform, has officially launched.

FSC Announces Board of Directors Election Results

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has announced the results of its 2026/2027 Board of Directors election.

Show More