February 8, 2010 | The Biz

LA County won't force porn companies to use condoms

The Los Angeles County public health chief has declined the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's request to force porn companies to use condoms. The foundation was advised that there were far too many companies and performers to police the industry effectively.

When three foundation workers showed up unannounced at a public health meeting. Dr. Jonathan Fielding, the county's public health chief, told them their demands were “very, very difficult to implement.”

“There are roughly 200 production companies with about 1,200 actors,” he said. “All you need is a room and a camera and a bed, basically, to do this kind of shoot, and we have no ability to police this.”

County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said it was really up to the State to govern the industry. “I think the only answer to this at the end of the day is a statewide approach to this, which would also empower law enforcement, and you run sting operations,” he said.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation was not impressed. “Well this seems like the kick-the-can approach,” a spokesman told XBIZ. “Why the heck does the county think they can grade restaurants on the health aspects and then they can’t deal with a simple matter of using condoms. It doesn’t seem like a prudent approach.”

Although we think the use of condoms is advisable, we also doubt if regulatory controls are the right approach.

L.A. County Officials Won’t Require Condoms for Adult Performers [XBiz]