September 1, 2006 | Sex & Society

2257 and adult personals

If you're one of the countless gay men who've posted or traded nude photos of themselves online -- and you know you are; don't deny it! -- listen up: there's some speculation that personals ads may be subject to scrutiny under new federal regulations affecting the distribution of pornography online.

Federal law 18 U.S.C. § 2257 is supposedly intended to prevent child pornography and requires all websites and movie producers offering pornographic material to thoroughly document the ages and identities of their models. The rules put forth by 2257, however, are also impacting Internet personals providers such as Gay.com and BigMuscle.com, according to Southern Voice Online.

“There’s hundreds of questions … that have to be resolved in court, because the rules and regulations and laws have been very poorly written,” Michelle Freridge, outgoing executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, said of 2257. “It’s actually a lawyer’s wet dream.”

According to Freridge, one of the few questions that has been properly addressed by authorities is whether or not sites that host explicit personals ads will be held accountable for 2257 violations. The answer? They won't, she says, because sites such as Gay.com don't create explicit profiles, they just host them.

Whether you will be asked to make your self-posted dirty pics comply with 2257 rules remains to be seen. But just in case, BigMuscle.com has asked its users to remove from the site any photos of themselves that show sexual acts, cumshots or masturbation.

"If you're just posting an image of yourself naked on a web site, it is unlikely 2257 would be applied to you," Freridge said, "but it is unclear."

Under 2257, violators face hefty fines and up to five years in prison. For now you're in the clear if you're just posting pics of yourself to a personals site, but if the feds starting interpreting the regulations broadly, get ready to pull your undies up!

• Updated adult website regs a huge headache [Southern Voice]