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 © 2026 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

FSC Hails Members, Allies in SCREEN Act Victory

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) released a statement today praising its members and allies after a successful lobbying effort to prevent the SCREEN Act, a nationwide age verification bill, from advancing out of the Commerce Committee for a full vote on the Senate floor.

SCREEN Act Stalls in Senate Committee Over Technicality

The Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday voted to approve the SCREEN Act, which would mandate nationwide site-based age verification of users seeking to access adult content online, but a procedural issue blocked the bill from advancing to the full Senate.

DarkFans Adds Time-Limited Content Pricing

DarkFans has debuted its Configure Limits feature for automating content promotions.

Clips4Sale, Free Speech Coalition Partner for 'Creator Workflow' Webinar

Clips4Sale (C4S) and Free Speech Coalition (FSC) have partnered for a webinar titled “Organization & Workflow: Simple Systems for Busy Creators.”

Pineapple Support, Streamate Partner for 'Self-Parenting' Support Group

Pineapple Support and Streamate are hosting a free online support group focused on self-care for performers, titled "Self-Parenting: Becoming Your Own Safe Space."

Nerds of Porn to Relaunch Site Through MyMember.site

Nerds of Porn is relaunching its membership site through MyMember.site on Aug. 14.

SCREEN Act Back in Play: Federal AV Bill Faces Senate Hearing

The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation has slated a markup session this week for the SCREEN Act, which would mandate site-based age verification of users accessing adult content online on a national level.

Clips.com Launches Lifetime Creator Referral Program

Recently launched creator platform Clips.com has introduced its new lifetime creator referral program.

BranditScan Rolls Out 'Leak Detection' Update

BranditScan has updated its Leak Detection feature for OnlyFans creators.

Show More