Cam Sites Face Performer Concerns

LOS ANGELES — Webcams are an amazing tool for interpersonal communications, but their growing popularity is raising a range of legal and privacy concerns surrounding users around the world; especially those enjoying webcams within an adult context.

Issues of appropriate legal age, and indeed, questions concerning the very existence of applicable laws within many webcam performer’s jurisdictions, complicate a situation where the exact identity of whom is on the other end of the cam is uncertain, dangerous, and perhaps not readily provable.

For consumers, relying on the due diligence of professional cam company operators is not necessarily a guarantee that the cam channel they are watching is not illegal child pornography, due to the widespread availability of fraudulent IDs, as well as the differing standards for legitimate identification which may be found in the third-world countries where many adult webcam performers operate from — and where adult webcam-derived earnings may mean the difference between hope and hunger.

One such region is the Philippines, which is notorious for fraudulent ID documents and which is undergoing a widely publicized anti-porn program centered on webcams.

“Many performers do not have passports or driver’s licenses — just the postal ID cards that are commonly used for identification there,” Barry from XLoveCam.com recently posted on GFY.com. “It is rare for a model to have two forms of government issued identification there and of course fake IDs are a commodity in abundant supply.”

Barry also noted that most cam sites today are being strict on performer IDs in order to avoid any allegations that underage performers appear on their network — providing an increasing level of scrutiny that can affect a company’s bottom line, but prevent it from costly court battles — or worse.

Abbie from LiveCamCash.com followed up Barry’s GFY posting by revealing that her company also initiated similar changes several months ago, due to substantial issues whereby a performer would sign up and submit their valid ID, but another performer that had not submitted a valid ID would attempt to work in the legitimate performer’s place.

“This ‘switch’ game happened with every [Philippines-based] studio,” Abbie stated. “[It was] not worth the risk at all to us.”

The situation makes for a challenging environment where operators may be forced to monitor thousands of channels for fraudulent or other illegal activity — and have to pull the plug when something untoward is detected — or even have to make blanket closures.

In a prepared statement entitled “Asian Homepage Closure,” adult webcam MyFreeCams.com (MFC) notified its users that effective October 31, 2011, the company would be closing its popular Asian Homepage section, which featured models from the Philippines. MFC further noted that its Asian Lounge would be closed immediately.

“This immediate change was required for legal reasons and there was nothing we could do to avoid it,” the statement read. “We are truly sorry.”

While the company cannot provide any further details, it noted that all models will be paid everything they are owed and that MFC would provide those models with additional support and assistance during this difficult transition.

“Our deepest apologies to both our models and our members for this very sad news,” the statement concluded. “We did everything we could.”

It appears MFC not only did “everything” it could do, it did “the right thing.”

In the evolving world of live webcams, such defining lines are not always so clear.

Related:  

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

Sara Jay, Dan Leal to Sponsor XBIZ Amsterdam Kick-Off Event

Sara Jay’s Wyde Syde Productions and Porno Dan Leal’s Market64 will co-sponsor the Bottoms Up Day Drinking kick-off event for XBIZ Amsterdam 2025 at Excalibur Café on Sept. 2, from 2-4 p.m. (CET).

AEBN Publishes Report on DP Trends

AEBN has published a report on DP and extreme penetration categories from its straight and gay theaters.

Free Speech Coalition Appoints Megan Stokes to Board of Directors

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) announced today that it has appointed Megan Stokes to its Board of Directors.

FansRevenue Acquires DivaTraffic

FansRevenue has acquired web traffic service DivaTraffic.

AEBN Announces Peter Green as Top Male Boy/Girl Performer for Summer 2025

AEBN has revealed its top 10 male Boy/Girl performers for summer 2025, with Peter Green landing atop the leaderboard.

Spicey AI Relaunches Site, Debuts $Spicey Tokens

Interactive voice chat platform Spicey AI has relaunched its website and introduced $Spicey tokens.

FSC: Missouri Age Verification Rule Will Not Take Effect August 30

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) announced that Missouri's proposed age verification legislation will not take effect on August 30, as it had originally estimated.

Little Caprice, Marcello Bravo to Co-Host 2025 XMA Europa Awards

XBIZ is pleased to announce that husband-and-wife duo Little Caprice and Marcello Bravo will co-host adult’s biggest night in Europe: the 2025 XMA Europa Awards on Sept. 4, in the epic climax to XBIZ’s fall events series.

Germany Will Block Payments to AV-Noncompliant Adult Sites as of Dec. 1

Starting Dec. 1, Germany will implement new rules prohibiting financial institutions from providing payment services to adult sites deemed to have inadequate age verification systems and making it easier for the government to target websites mirroring the content of such sites.

Jerkmate Joins Pineapple Support as Partner-Level Sponsor

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

Show More