"The thing is I know this cloak of anonymity we all think we wear is an illusion."

I've produced content in my day. I took the pictures. I put them on the web and I made money. I didn't pay my model. I didn't check her ID. She didn't sign a release form. I have no signature from her. If I want to use her again, I'll do it exactly the same way. I am not afraid of the legal repercussions. I do not worry that the men in black will see my site and force me to provide model IDs and custodian of record information.

Titmowse! Are you insane? How can you be so irresponsible? How can you put yourself at risk? Aren't you aware of the law? Even if you don't care about your own welfare, don't you realize such recklessness hurts the entire industry? You teach newbies to abide by the laws. How can you be such a fucking fool hypocrite?

Relax froggers. The pictures I took were of me and I was 39 at the time. I needed the site meat.

I'm relatively sure I'm safe from prosecution for the images I took of myself. For one thing, I'm an old hag as far as the adult Internet is concerned. Excuse me, I mean mature. I might have once passed for a teen when I was in my early twenties but even the fuzziest of webcams can't hide my present crone-like appearance. For another thing, my pics are softcore. I stuck a candy cane in my cooch and took a picture once. That's about the extent of my insertion imagery. As far as my homemade content is concerned, I think I'm pretty immune to Title 18 scrutiny. Relatively.

Truth is, if the muckymucks want to hassle me for any reason, they can. They may not be within the law. They might not be right, but they can.

For the past ten years, the Dallas City vice squad arrested clerks who sold videotapes of real sex acts. Clerks. Not the storeowners. Not the video producers. The Dallas vice cops went to the shop, picked out a video they knew defied the sodomy law, took it back to the station and viewed it, wrote a report and mailed an arrest warrant/form letter to the clerk.

The clerk got charged with promotion of obscenity. This is how it is in the brick-and-mortar world of adult entertainment. Strip bars get raided. Porn shops get raided. It doesn't matter if they've paid for the licenses to do what they do. In America, if you sell smut, you truly are guilty until proven innocent.

There’s been a lot of talk in the adult community about Title 18 compliance among webmasters and content providers. We all know that anyone who produces adult content must be able to prove that the models in their imagery were of legal age (18) at the time the products were created. Any adult content buyer should be able to view the contact information of the custodian of records (creator) on a content provider’s site. These are the etched-in-stone laws of adult content.

Take the time to read TITLE 18 Code>Part 1>Chapter 110>Section 2257> Record keeping requirements. The text will tell you what information needs to be posted.

Why adhere to the laws of Title 18? What if you’re in another country? What if your provider is in another country? What if the age of consent is different where you live? Why follow regulations that don’t apply to you? Why? Why do any of it?

The Dallas scenario explains why for me. Call me paranoid. I am. I’ll admit it. The thing is I know this cloak of anonymity we all think we wear is an illusion. We’ve been able to stay ahead of the game because we invented the game. The time will come when they will find you. They will know what you do and they will make sure you comply with the laws of your land.

If you are, then you might be lucky enough to continue operating without trauma. If you aren’t, you will be fucked. It’s advantageous to follow US law because it’s the standard for our most profitable market. If you follow US law, you can sell to US webmasters. If you live in the US, you can feel safe buying from providers who follow US Title 18 regulations. If you use TITLE 18 Code>Part 1>Chapter 110>Section 2257> Record keeping requirements as your criterion, you’ll be a hell of a lot more protected than if you didn’t.

Fact is it’s quite possible I could get in trouble because I really don’t have model releases for the content I made of myself. Then again, I’m not selling it to anyone. I’m not a teen. It was grainy old lady softcore I made of my granny ass. I stay away from the younger sites and content. Comprendre?