Porn Surfing 101

Copyright

The most flaunted laws on the Internet are those governing copyright. Copyright begins with the creator of a work and continues through that author's life plus 50 years. Only then is that work in the "public domain". There is therefore virtually no erotic photography on the Web that can be considered to be in the public domain.

Anyone who puts up a site with photos they download elsewhere off the Internet is infringing someone's copyrights. The same applies to individuals who trade videos and photos on the various file sharing services. You don't have to be making money to infringe on copyright.

"Sharing" files also poses a security risk as the files may contain viruses or worms that can harm your computer or spyware programs that can record your computer activity.

Part of the Terms and Conditions of any pay site is a proviso barring the redistribution of pictures and videos that you view on the site. Redistributing the media is breaching a legal contract.

Sermon over!

Illegal Materials

There are, floating around the Internet, materials that are illegal to possess or distribute in most jurisdictions, specifically sexual depictions of anyone under 18 years of age, sex with animals or sex with violence. Usually the case is that the content is tolerated (though still technically illegal) in the jurisdiction in which the server is located. It remains illegal to download and distribute such materials in the vast majority of countries and many police forces actively pursue and prosecute violators.

The adult industry actively cooperates with law enforcement agencies through the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP).

Protecting Minors from Adult Content

The right of free speech must be balanced with the right of children to use the Internet without being exposed to graphic depictions of sex. Preventing minors' exposure to sexual imagery is the main thrust behind government initiatives to regulate the adult Internet.

The adult industry in general is interested in placing barriers to access by children, but there is no perfect method to accomplish this goal. Net filtering programs installed on children's computers do help but are still flawed in that they fail to block some porn sites, while blocking other sites that aren't pornographic. Ultimately it is the responsibility of parents to regulate their children's Internet use.