related news: porn producer goes to jail for producing porn

this just in on slashdot:

http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/309771/couple_gets_prison_time_internet_obscenity


californian porn producer and his wife go to jail for one year for producing porn.


article contains massive ranting & raving aboug "obscenities of the wors kind" w/o delivering any detail on what exactly "worst kind" obscenities were in the eyes of judge&jury.

I mean, it could have been child porn, then i'd say one year is not enough...

Is there any real description of what they were producing? The article mentions privacy laws. Hidden camera? (O.o)

Here is a potted History of the company

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_Associates

They actually _invited_ the attorney general to go after them. It boiled down to one of those "hey let's see if we can figure out where the line between obscenity and protected speech is, yet again, yay!" things.

They were the owners of the production company "Extreme Associates". This case had been coming since 2001 because of their work with the producer known as "Max Hardcore" and their series named "Slap Happy". "Max" was already sentenced to 46 months last year for this work. A friend had showed me a clip a few years ago and yes it was different enough to stick in my mind. All actors were willing and it was not portrayed as force but it was what I would call disturbing and most stuff does not bother me.

Trying to think of how to word this without violating forum guidelines. I do agree that it could conceivably be relevant thou so I will give it a shot. A man using a womans mouth as a urinal and repeatedly slapping her hard during oral just is not most peoples idea of fun? Apologies if that was too graphic for some. EDIT: Actually it was worse then this. A quick google search turned up this: "The videos feature graphic scenes of simulated rape, torture, defecation and murder." So I would have to say that this is not a new precedent set with this case. And glad I did not see any of those clips.

Read the wiki. All actors and actresses were of age and consented to being filmed. Don't want to watch it? Don't buy, rent, or download the video. Meh.... Can't see why this could have turned into a legal issue at all. (=_=)

I'm guessing gay porn is next. Nobody sees a slippery slope when it supports their agenda. (=_=)

I generally agree with this, Immy, but in a lot of cases, these are bottom feeding producers, involved in organized crime, drugs, etc. But I agree, producing this material, if all involved were of age and consented, is not a cause for prosecution, in and of itself.

I don't usually like nitpicking over word choices in posts (as I demonstrated in another recent thread).

However, because this subject involves a legal distinction that gets discussed frequently, and I believe it's important that people understand those distinctions, here's some clarification. Legally, pornography, obscenity, and child pornography are very different.

They did not go to jail for producing porn. They were sentenced to prison for "conspiracy to distribute obscene materials". The key points are: pornography in general is _not_ illegal, mere possession of _child_ pornography _is_ illegal, obscenity is more difficult to prove than pornography, and the _distribution_ (not possession) of obscenity that was an integral part of the charges in this case.

I'm not sure whether mere possession of obscenity (other than child pornography) is ever illegal. The sense I get is that obscenity is only illegal at the federal level when it involves distribution or other, mostly commercial aspects. Regardless, there's absolutely nothing about this particular case that suggests there's anything illegal about general pornography.

I wish someone would study human nature and the actual effects of authority targeting this sort of thing. The people who hunt down and try to eradicate obscenity may be as ineffective as the "War on Drugs." Might they be actually having the reverse effect?

For example - in the 70's we kids were shown one of those cautionary films about the dangers of drugs. To warn against LSD, the film showed a user stumbling into the bathroom, looking in the mirror, and seeing a horrible monster face. I guess this was to warn about bad trips, but every boy in the room turned to each other with unmistakable looks on their faces. "Cooool!"

I hope authorities are not making obscenities far worse by trying to squash them out. You cannot save people from themselves.

[For the record, I did not then become a drug user in spite of my jokes about being some kind of leftover counter culture wannabe, both here and in world. Drugs are boring compared to art, music, science fiction, and Second Life. So is obscenity.]

The comments underneath this article talk of bestiality.

Rock

Sounds rather like a few sims I've visited in SL . . .

So their stuff is not rally about sex. It is about turning stomachs, with sex added in to make it even more revolting. I propose they should be prosecuted for producing a public health hazard.

well i think California see's opportunity here..
they confiscate the business and everything and water it down a bit and start to come out of debt

Calipornia

Sounds like PETA to me. =^-^=

I like the part where they prosecute 'em in Pittsburgh because "authorities chose this area of Pennsylvania because they believed a conviction for obscenity would be easier to achieve in that socially conservative district than in California"

Sad thing is.... its TRUE!!!

We're the city that arrested Tommy Chong after all, on drug paraphernalia charges

Actually there is no slippery slope and this was not precedence. IT WOULD have been precedence only if they would have been found not guilty. Production/distributing is different then owning and viewing. US Supreme Court has clearly stated that anyone can watch/read what ever they want in the privacy of their homes(except for child pornography). But pornography laws apply to the production and distribution. Bestiality, scat, water sports, simulated rape and simulated murder have always been found to be "obscene" in court rulings here and hence verboten in the US Porn industry.

Extreme Associates decided to test this and as pointed out above, even challenged Ashcroft to come and get them. Reckless behavior to say the least. These people were not of the same ilk as Larry Flynt, nor did they have his money reserves. It would have been an interesting case if it would have made it to the Supreme Court, but alas, they ran out of money to mount a reasonable defense and pleaded guilty instead. Their defense was that since a person is allowed to view anything (short of child porn) in the privacy of their homes, then a production company can produce anything that a person could possibly imagine. If they can not produce it then the courts are depriving people of what they may want to view, in direct violation of the precedent set by Lawrence v. Texas.

Me? I don't care either way. XXX films have one hell of a long way to go to catch up to my imagination

Wow, an intellect discussion that I can actually follow and understand.

Of course, since it's about pr0n. Interesting topics make a discussion much easier to follow.

I read the materials listing... pretty nasty stuff... and yet there are people that want to see it (I'll leave my opinion of those people to the readers imagination)

but the truth is, if they don't break the law in the creation, and they are taking reasonable measures to prevent distribution to minors (which no one wants to argue the law on) then there shouldn't be a problem...

my line for tolerance of depravity ends right where it affects others that didn't choose it, (being someone that engages in things others would consider similarly depraved) past that do as thou please.

Ah C'mon! We know you've got a few Donkey-Scat-Fisting-while-being-raped-by-a-circus-midget videos

"My kink is fine, but, yours crosses the line!" ... comes to mind. (^_^)y

This.

Yea this is the most common and surprisingly enough it is very common in SL.

no, circus midgets creep me out....

Carnies?

"Small hands; smell of cabbage.."