Generating more than $1 billion in annual revenue, the adult online industry is enviably successful at making money - an achievement that sets cybersex apart from other Net commerce hopefuls left wandering the digital landscape to divine revenue streams.
Before there was an Internet, though, there were telephones, VCRs, computers, and of course, pornography. Author Frederick S. Lane III places all of these technologies into a historical perspective that, when woven together with social and societal observations about changing sexual attitudes, form a fascinating read in his book, Obscene Profits: The Entrepreneurs of the Cyber Age (272 pp., Routledge; ISBN 0415920965).
Internet attorney Lane, an expert on emergent technologies, visited with AVN Online recently and shared some of his thoughts on obscenity regulation and how the Internet and pornography complement one another.
AVN ONLINE: What led you to specialize in Internet law?
FREDERICK LANE III: ...I think the simple answer to that is that I've been working with computers now since 1972 or so. ...And basically when it's a hobby you kind of pay attention to stuff, and when I was going through law school one of the things that I sort of kept an eye on were computer-related legal issues. And in particular, when the Internet became popular in the early 1990s, it seemed like a natural thing to study.
AVNO: What inspired you to write Obscene Profits?
FL: Well, it's an interesting thing. In 1996, I was really startled to see the Congress develop and pass the Communications Decency Act, which I thought was unconstitutional even before it got to the Supreme Court. And I was really concerned about what that meant for the Internet because, even at that early stage, it was obvious what a tremendous resource the Internet could be. In any case, I started following the whole CDA debate, and one of the things that almost immediately startled me was the tone of the media coverage for the pornography industry... [media coverage was] in a very matter of fact way. ...And so I thought that not only was there an interesting story in terms of the legal issues that were involved, but there was also an interesting story in how the industry's perception has changed.
...I was kind of surprised that nobody had written about the online pornography industry in great detail. ...And also the other thing that seemed true was that there appears to be, every decade or so, a good book about pornography in general that talks about some of the social issues and some of the legal issues and tries to tie it all together. And it seemed to me like it was about time for another one of those books to be written.
AVNO: What are the things you would most like readers to gain, or come away with, after reading your book?
FL: I would like them to understand a little bit better how it is that the online pornography industry is doing so well on the Internet. ...the product that the pornography industry is delivering to its consumers is just made for the Internet. I mean, the bulk of it is information that can be translated into electronic data. And what that basically means is that the pornography industry is in a position to essentially eliminate its distribution costs. And I think thaputs the industry in a very powerful position.
The other thing that I'm hoping that they'll get from the book is a more objective look at how this industry functions within our society. ...What I'm hoping is, that this will enable the debate to take place at a better level. Rather then having people that are jumping up and down calling each other names, the question is - can we talk about this as, not so much as an academic discipline, but as a legitimate phenomenon that should be understood.
AVNO: The problems of copyright and trademark infringement are known to be pervasive problems in the adult industry. Do you see self-regulation working?
FL: Well, I certainly haven't seen any self-regulation that's working. There are too many folks out there who are trying to make a really quick buck. And one of the ways they see to do it is to set up an image harvester and plow through the news groups and then post stuff onto their website. Probably half of the stuff going through the news groups, conservatively speaking, is pulled out of print magazines or from someone else's website.
[H]aving folks who respect the law and who treat each other honestly is in the best interest of the pornography industry. ...I think that one of the things the pornography industry really needs to pay attention to is the presidential election that's coming up. And as much as people may dislike Al Gore... I think the kind of Attorney General he is likely to choose is going to be much friendlier towards the industry - or at least towards the concept of free speech - than George Bush's Attorney General could ever be.
AVNO: If you were going to suggest something for webmasters definitely not to do - would you say maybe not to use those models who are 18 years and two minutes old?
FL: I think that the trouble with all of this is that the pornography industry is a fantasy industry. And what they are out there doing is selling the fantasy. And so someone who is looking to market to that particular niche may conclude that it's economically [advantageous] for them to run the risk of prosecution. Federal law gives them what they call a safe harbor, which is the record keeping. And if you're able to prove that your models are of age, then you've got a good defense. The problem that some of these webmasters run into, or that they raise for themselves, is that they don't sometimes pay particularly close attention to where they're getting their content from. That's probably the biggest problem.
AVNO: This brings me to our last question. Do you see another book in your future?
FL: I sure hope so. As a matter of fact, I am working on one right now on workplace surveillance of employees. ...In terms of this industry, I've actually got two or three different book ideas that I'm kicking around. And then the other thing that I've been kicking around a little bit is possibly a history of morality legislation.
AVNO: Thank you for your time.
FL: It's been a pleasure.
