Its easy to understand the concept of content sharing as a practical option to those starting out in the adult business. All parties involved produce content with no financial outlay make sales and maximise profit.
Sounds like a perfect business model for budding entrepreneurs who want to get their foot on the ladder to success but is it really ideal as it sounds?
The problem with a lot of modern technology is the false sense of entitlement that comes with it. The end user knows nothing of a time when making porn for sale was highly illegal and made all the more confusing because making porn was never illegal.
Its not the kind of thing you will learn anywhere and more to the point, if you see it everywhere on tube sites for free, what makes you think you can't just shoot your own content from your own mobile phone and upload it? After all, other people are doing it and doing well from it.
The problem with this is when people find out the hard way when their accounts are shut down and their earnings kept by companies when a dispute arises from an opposing party involved in your clip because you failed to produce a model release and IDs giving you legal consent to use that clip for sale on a digital platform.
Saying you have permission as the person in the scene was your partner or friend at the time is not good enough. At best, a company dealing with a complaint will just remove the content on request. At worst you could find yourself in legal proceedings, being sued for emotional injury and accused of revenge porn where cases (according to Google searches on the topic) have been doubling every year since it became a buzz word. There are heavy penalties associated with being convicted of this crime from heavy fines to custodial sentences. Depending on the extent of the dispute it can be considered akin to rape, a violation of civil rights that could land you on a sex offenders register for 7 years. So consider these words carefully.
Simply put, people are not informed or fail to read the terms and conditions when signing up to online platforms and skip to ticking the box. We'ver all done it
A typical scenario maybe a couple who shoot content and set up social media together, to meet others fcouples or singles for mutual fun. No one thinks about asking their partner or friend to supply their governement issued IDs such as a passport and driving licence plus sign a model release or even expect to see tests because tit would get in the way of all that sexy fun time until the day they fall out and the other party decides they do not want to be seen with you on the internet and requests the removal of that content.
The problem begins if the person does not remove the content by way of protest or worse, decides to use it in a way to expose you to your friends and family. At a time of the #MeToo equivalent of the McCarthy Witch Hunt do you really want the time hassle that comes with this?
The solution to this problem is understanding what you need in place to legally protect yourself from it happening in the first place. Signing a well worded model release supported by government issue ID proving you were of legal age when the content was produced is a good start
Using sexual health tests to consolidate your records to sell content online is good business practice to be discussed at another time but very Important to consider this as a precaution as It is a standard requirement to work with established professional companies in the adult entertainment business.
Even a model release wont save you.
Heres why.
If you have not paid for content and the participant in your clip requests removal of it then it could be honoured without your consent , even if you appealed, purely because there was no financial investment to support full ownership. Thats how a lawyer could argue it in court, which would cost you more time and inconvenience with a case you would surely lose as anyone assessing the facts will revert back to the right to change your mind. No money in the transaction of a contract means a signed release can be anulled
If you are running your own paysite then you need to be aware of other legal requirements coming into effect soon such as
Age Verification and the
GDPR (The General Data Protection Regulation) You can read about these online or stay informed by joining an association of adult content producers like
UKAP if you want to stay within the bounds of doing things legally
Contact UKAP
admin@ukadultproducers.org and follow @UKAPHQ and sign up as a
BUSINESS/ SERVICE or as a
MODEL/ PERFORMER to get verified on the adult industry directory of services tailored to the adult content producing community by producers and talent who are established professionally in the adult business.
