LOS ANGELES — Free Speech Coalition Board Chair Jeffrey Douglas says that all areas of the adult industry are vulnerable to lawsuits under new mandatory condom initiative in California, regardless of where they are in the production chain, and in some cases, where or what they produce.
Douglas and others will discuss the new ballot initiative, slated for a vote this November, at 1 p.m. today at the 2016 XBIZ Show, which runs through Friday
“Many producers assume that because they produce outside the state, or because they use condoms already, that they are exempt from the effects of this initiative,” Douglas said. “Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The enforcement mechanisms in this initiative operate on a presumption of guilt. If this ballot initiative passes, producers everywhere are going to end up battling lawyers looking for a quick settlement.”
The initiative by AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Michael Weinstein requires that any California adult production use condoms for penetrative sex.
However, since the planned enforcement depends on individual private citizens filing lawsuits against non-compliant producers, this means that even out-of-state producers, cam sites and performers can expect to face a barrage of lawsuits that assume California production.
Douglas said: “Producers are going to have to hire counsel, regardless of where or when the filming took place. If your film is being sold in California — and that means almost anything online — you’re vulnerable under the law. Given the thousands of potential lawsuits we’re looking at, it’s going to affect you whether you like it or not.”
Douglas said that under the new law, performers, agents, website operators, retailers and even affiliate sites and trade publications will also be vulnerable, thanks to a loose definition of “financial interest” and a companion “aiding and abetting” clause.
The FSC Producers Meeting will take place today at the 2016 XBIZ Show, at 1 p.m. in Studio 4 of the Andaz hotel in West Hollywood, Calif.
