Posted by oznl on July 11, 2005 at 00:29 [211.30.20.62]
I've roughly translated the following message from ABKingdom using an unholy combination of Babelfish and schoolboy French. It's not new news (nearly two weeks on) but I thought I'd share it. The message isn't mine so don't flame me and yes, there are some minor points of fact that are incorrect.
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In recent days, many US based websites that gather and offer to all, more or less erotic and anonymous photographs, have closed their doors. The reason is simple, the people in charge of these sites now risk five years of prison. A new American law, entitled "18 USC 2257", now obliges Web sites displaying adult photographs to preserve for each image the documentary evidence that the photographed people are not minors. The goal of this law is obviously to limit the proliferation of pedophilic images and such, but it additionally fact, indirectly cleans the Web of considerable adult sites that have so much horrified the néo-conservatives.
Practically, the great majority of the sites which gather photographs from the four corners of the world, sent most of the time by the participants in forums, are unable to accurately provide this written proof of age. This is a consequence essentially from (the fact that) participants who post these photographs, they generally found elsewhere on Internet and are not the authors.
Which non-commercial site can require, classify and file documentary evidence of majority (age) for each photograph? None. That represents enormous bureaucracy. Even if the sites were limited to the photographs whose participants are really the authors, well few of them would agree to send a photocopy of their identity card and a personally signed document to prove their majority (age) of the photographs.
Although today no lawsuit was still launched on the basis of 18 USC 2257, the Wife-ups site is first site ABDL to be closed as a precaution. The person in charge indeed fears rightly to proved unable to provide the evidence of (age) majority for each thousand of photographs which accumulated on its site. AdultBabySource has just modified yesterday with haste its banner page to add a message announcing its conformity with the 18 USC 2257.
Herewith a translation of the summary of the situation drawn from the RateMyBoobies site which has just also closed: "the government requires that one conform to bureaucratic requirements, that it are in fact impossible to satisfy for this site. It does not matter that these requirements do not bring really anything to the people. It is the most powerful attack against the freedom of expression since the passage of CDA (NDT: another making it possible to stop people arbitrarily), and, oddly, the media do not seem to have noticed it. The penalty not to obey these bureaucratic requirements is five years of prison. The law was promulgated by Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General of the United States nominated by Bush. If you voted for Bush, you are responsible. If you think that this country is free, you are deplorably mistaken. No nation has freedom when it is directed by religious fanatics."
It is certain that well of other persons in charge of Web sites lodged in the United States, ABDL or not, are likely to follow the same way to avoid possible legal problems. It is unfortunate that ABKingdom is located in the United States, Texas to be exact, and that it is thus directly concerned with this law. At present I did not still make any decision.
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