RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina state legislature on Tuesday voted to override Gov. Josh Stein’s veto of a bill imposing regulations that industry observers have warned could push adult websites and platforms to ban most creators and content.
As XBIZ reported after the North Carolina state legislature passed HB 805, titled the “Prevent Sexual Exploitation of Women and Minors Act,” the bill — now state law — includes a requirement to verify performers’ ages and consent via a process that significantly exceeds federal record-keeping requirements under Section 2257.
It also mandates explicit written consent for each individual sexual act in which a performer engaged during the creation of the content, as well as separate consent for distribution of the content.
Further, under the new law, anyone appearing in adult content is entitled to withdraw their consent at any time, regardless of any legal contract they might have signed. The site or platform is then required to remove the content.
Those provisions are scheduled to take effect Dec. 1, unless a legal challenge prevents implementation.
Industry advocates and stakeholders have warned that new law could create havoc in the adult industry by requiring an inaccessible level of documentation for previously published content and by effectively invalidating model contracts.
As XBIZ reported earlier this month, Gov. Josh Stein vetoed the bill — though his veto message revealed that his opposition to HB 805 had little to do with protecting the First Amendment rights of adult websites, and more to do with tacked-on provisions unrelated to the adult industry. Those provisions include sections targeting transgender rights and enabling parents to block school libraries from lending their children books of which they do not approve.
While the original votes on the bill fell short of the margin required to override a veto, legislators on Tuesday were able to summon up the requisite three-fifths of legislators in each house in order to override the governor’s veto, making the bill into state law.