As the executive director of the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP), one of my principal duties is to raise awareness of the association’s mission to keep children out of and away from adult entertainment. Another facet of my position is to help counter some of the misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding the depiction of underage performers in adult oriented materials.
This outreach takes place through various media and includes my personal interaction with stakeholders at industry and governmental events — providing an irreplaceable but resource-intensive platform for networking and the exchange of information. The benefits of this activism are tangible and revealing, however, providing a worthwhile return on ASACP’s substantial investment in travel and event attendance.
One of the areas in which ASACP’s global outreach is paying off is in helping shape, and to better understand, the world’s differing views on the acceptability and definition of “underage” content.
One of the areas in which ASACP’s global outreach is paying off is in helping shape, and to better understand, the world’s differing views on the acceptability and definition of “underage” content.
Despite some occasional cultural differences between the world’s societies over what constitutes the legal age of consent for such depictions, the message that children have no place in adult entertainment is being embraced by growing numbers of companies around the globe, due in part to the efforts of ASACP.
For example, several Eastern European countries have long been cited as notoriously prolific sources of illegal CP; while other nations on the continent allowed legal content production featuring performers as young as 16 years of age — complicating the situation for online adult companies working in an “18 plus” world…
Increased awareness of the situation by pan-European companies and other marketers has led to more emphasis on productions involving older teen models, even in locations where younger models may be legally employed. Document checking is also much more common now, regardless of where production is taking place; as foreign companies make a good faith effort to comply with the 18 U.S.C. § 2257 age-verification and recordkeeping law.
After attending events in Europe to participate in some of the adult industry’s fall show schedule, I wanted to share with you a little bit about the events, and how they help support ASACP.
The European Summit, held in Prague, is known as Europe’s leading B2B conference for the online entertainment industries. The Summit’s backers waived the registration fee for ASACP to attend, providing ASACP with the opportunity to spread awareness of its mission to a diverse, global audience made up of Eastern and Western Europeans, along with Americans, Canadians and other entrepreneurs from around the world.
While ASACP was unable to attend, Webmaster Access Amsterdam graciously provided the association with flyers in the show’s attendee gift bags; serving as a great example of how companies can help ASACP further its mission.
XBIZ has also generously continued its longtime support of ASACP and offered free admission and hotel accommodations to the association at its highly successful inaugural XBIZ EU event in London — along with flyers in the event’s gift bags, a show guide ad, and an information booth to distribute ASACP literature.
These generous corporate donations enable the association to leverage its limited financial resources, so that a larger percentage of revenues may be spent on its mission. ASACP’s business is as much about protecting your business as it is about protecting the children. Supported by sponsor and membership fees as well as by donations to its Foundation, ASACP is at the forefront of online child-protection on behalf of the online adult entertainment industry. I want to thank all those that have and continue to support us even in this difficult economic climate.
For more information on how you can help, please visit the ASACP website (www.asacp.org) or email tim@asacp.org — and thank you for your continued support!
