Unsafe Porn Sex = Fines

[OneFinger]

According to SFGate.com, "State officials have taken unprecedented regulatory action against the porn industry, fining two adult film companies more than $30,000 each for allegedly allowing actors to perform unprotected sex..."

 

To read the entire article, go to:

 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/09/17/state0437EDT0022.DTL&type=printable

[guyinsf]

Interesting. I'm guessing, based on the small amount of information in the article, that the reason the two specific companies are being fined is because a former "actress" filed a complaint. There is certainly a lot of unprotected anal sex in porn films -- both straight and gay -- so it would be pretty easy to fine a lot more than two companies if the matter was simply related to allowing actors to have anal and/or vaginal sex without condoms.

[+ deej]

These were the two companies involved when several actresses turned up HIV-positive and shut down the entire industry for six weeks recently. Talk of fines (and potential legislation) started immediately and hasn't stopped.

 

The companies will fight it, of course, claiming the actors aren't employees but independent contractors. They'll lose eventually.

 

The industry is, rightly, feeling the heat. One of the larger gay bareback companies recently relocated from CA to NV "for creative reasons". (Read: they could feel the heat that was coming.)

 

Expect more government involvement before you'll see less. Unsafe sex is an easy target.

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

Cal-OSHA Basis for Fines

 

There was a much longer article about this in the Los Angeles Times, which requires registration to view, but this brief article provides this telling quote:

 

"What this means is that any employer whose workers are exposed to any potentially infectious material, such as semen or vaginal fluids, must follow state regulations covering workplaces," says Susan Gard, a spokesperson for Cal/OSHA. "Any bodily fluid is considered infectious. That means barrier equipment must be used."

 

Essentially, Cal-OSHA is using regulations on potentially infectious material, which would generally be used, for example, in a medical environment, to cover adult pornographic film making where a barrier is not used. The link below also links to the Times article:

 

http://safety.blr.com/display.cfm/id/96742