Current law requires anyone who produces sexually explicit films to keep a record of the names and ages of participants. However, a provision of the Children’s Safety Act of 2005 (H.R. 3132), passed by the House September 14 and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, would expand the definition of sexual activity to include simulated acts, and would also expand the class of people who must comply with the recordkeeping requirements by eliminating an exception for those who merely distribute material but are not involved in hiring, contracting for, managing, or otherwise arranging for participation of the performers.
“The proposed amendments place legitimate businesses and persons in a position of having to comply with a criminal regulation despite the fact that they simply do not possess the information required by the statute, nor the reasonable means of obtaining it,” the groups wrote.
Jonathan Band, a consultant to ALA’s Washington Office, told American Libraries that the proposal covers a wide range of content, and that in the case of libraries it could extend to a book containing nudity or even a copy of the Kama Sutra. “The terms are so broad . . . . It’s absurd,” he said. Band also noted that the provision would require anyone making available material that fell under the new guidelines—which would be retroactive to include any materials made after1995—to label such items to show compliance with the law.
Posted November 4, 2005.