U.S. Appeals Court Releases 'Perfect 10' Opinion

WASHINGTON — The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal on Thursday released a 26-page opinion that upholds the court decisions of several lawsuits filed by adult company Perfect 10 against several companies, including web hosting service CWIE and credit-card processor CCBill.

In the 2002 lawsuit, Perfect 10 accused CCBill and CWIE of, among other things, copyright and trademark infringement. The two companies had provided services for several websites that featured Perfect 10 content without the adult company's consent.

The court ruled in favor of the defendants, citing section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in its opinion.

Under the section, those offering an "interactive computer service" are not responsible for the content posted by its users, as long as they show effort to restrict access to "filthy, excessively violent, harassing or otherwise objectionable" material.

The court opinion stated that service providers are immune from legal attack because they did not post the copyrighted material.

"It's a strong opinion protecting online freedom," Jason Schwartz, Electronic Frontier Foundation staff attorney, told XBIZ. "A way of attacking free speech online is to go after the service provider who gives the speaker a forum. This ruling protects the service provider from attack and guarantees more freedom for the user."

The 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act states that web hosts are not liable for user content, so long as they take down the illegal material immediately after being notified by the copyright holder and are not receiving "direct financial benefit" from the posted content.

Perfect 10 argued that CCBill and CWIE should have taken down its content on two sites — Illegal.net and StolenCelebrityPics.com — because the companies should have been aware of the infringing content.

The judge disagreed with Perfect 10's argument, saying service providers should not have the burden of proving whether content is "actually illegal."

"The reality is, the way that this 9th Circuit ruling reads, it now makes entirely clear that plaintiffs can't make any state-based claims against online service providers — they're all gone," said Eric Goldman, a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law.

The court soon will release rulings in two other similar cases involving Perfect 10, which are currently awaiting decisions.

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

FSC Publishes Analysis of Federal Trade Commission Event Promoting AV

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has published an analysis of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) event held this week that promoted age verification among other forms of speech regulation.

GirlsDoPorn Owner Michael Pratt Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking

Michael Pratt, former owner of the rogue website GirlsDoPorn, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California on Thursday to sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking charges, according to a report by City News Service.

Master Nico Relaunches Site Through YourPaysitePartner

Master Nico has relaunched his official website through YourPaysitePartner (YPP).

Federal Judge Grants Partial Halt of Florida AV Law

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Tallahassee Division, has granted a preliminary injunction against HB 3, the state's age verification law, as a lawsuit filed by two online trade associations challenging the law makes its way through the courts.

Aylo Releases Statement on Suspending Access to Pornhub in France

Technology and media company Aylo, which operates adult sites including Pornhub, YouPorn, and Redtube, has released a public statement regarding its decision to block access to its sites in France.

Pineapple Support to Host Wellness Sessions at Bucharest Summit

Pineapple Support is hosting free group and one-on-one therapy sessions at Bucharest Summit, June 3-5.

Pornhub Blocks Access in France in Response to SREN Law

Pornhub parent company Aylo has opted to block access to its sites in France rather than comply with age verification requirements under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law.

ASACP Highlights Study on Parental Controls

The Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP) is highlighting the results of a study on the underutilization of parental controls.

Sydney Screams Launches New Site Through Grooby's Blue.xxx

Sydney Screams has launched her new membership site, SydneyScreams.xxx, through Grooby's website management company Blue.xxx.

Mistress Mystii Is LoyalFans' 'Featured Creator' for June

LoyalFans has named Mistress Mystii as its Featured Creator for June.

Show More