While some may be under the impression that the porn we know today is a veritable wild west of unregulated chaos, the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. Stringent requirements for age verification and documentation of performers has existed for nearly 40 years, with child pornography laws dating back to 1977. The requirements set forth in the 80s in response to the proliferation of digital adult content still hold true today, with some adjustments along the way. Mainstream adult content producers take these age verification laws very seriously, since even one underage performer slipping through the cracks would spell financial and legal ruin for the producer and any company affiliated with that piece of media. You may not have heard of them, but every adult content producer lives and breathes by 2257 law. But what exactly is 2257 law and how did it change the landscape of porn?
2257 Law is a collection of statutes passed to protect minors from appearing in adult content and hold producers accountable to verify and document the age of their performers. It applies to all media produced in the United States which features “actual sexually explicit content,” meaning content depicting real sex (as opposed to simulated acts). 2257 Law established important definitions, introduced new record-keeping and age verification requirements, and outlined penalties and consequences for violations. It set a precedent for the emerging era of content distribution as it was unfolding, and is still the legal gold standard of operating protocol for all adult content producers.
2257 Law was written into the Child Protection and Obscenity act of 1988 as part of the larger Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. It was officially signed into law on November 18th, 1988. Since its inception there have been a number of amendments and revisions made to account for various court rulings around freedom of speech and constitutionality, as well as to close important loopholes. In fact, this act was intended to close some loopholes from a previous act, and make more stringent requirements for porn producers to prove the legitimacy of the performers they work with.
The Child Protection and Obscenity Act of 1988 was meant to be an extension of the existing Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act of 1977, which was the first law passed to specifically prohibit children from appearing in sexual content. The 1988 act expanded provisions to specify record-keeping requirements, and clarified penalties for violations. The penalties for failing to keep proper records for inspection are pretty steep, with some resulting in up to 30 years prison time and $15,000 or more per violation.
On all mainstream adult studio sets, paperwork requires a dedicated chunk of time to ensure performers have time to review all their contracts and releases as well as go over consent checklists and other company-specific practices. One thing that is standard on every single set is a 2257 compliant document which records the name, address, legal identification, age, pseudonyms, and other identifying information for every single performer on set. Producers must then inspect and verify the validity of at least two forms of government-issues identification in real time. They then make photo copies of these documents to keep with the 2257 paperwork. These documents are held for a minimum of 7 years following the production of the content, and a minimum of 5 years after any company’s dissolution, meaning a company cannot “go under” to claim ignorance or lost documents and avoid accountability. .
No company would risk their entire business model on an ambiguous ID, and any pro can tell you that many a shoot has been canceled or postponed over the years because a performer forgot a second form of identification – yes, even if the performer has been previously shot and verified by the same producer. One slip-up could put a company out of business, and could land a producer in federal prison – the risk of disregarding these requirements simply isn’t worth the reward. So, the next time someone asks how porn companies are keeping minors from appearing in their content and hypothetically proposes new legislation or regulatory requirements, you can chime in with a tidbit of insider knowledge – the regulations have existed for decades, and continue to be followed to the letter by every Responsible Erotica Organization in the industry.