Based on a provision added to the Children's Safety Act of 2005 (H.R. 3231), certain mainstream entertainment generated by Hollywood could be in the same category as adult material. The legalese, which first saw daylight as the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 2005 (H.R. 2726) before it was incorporated into the current bill, is buried deep inside H.R. 3231, which was originally designed to track sex offenders and prevent children from being victimized by sex crimes.
H.R. 3231 is currently before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and there is no timetable for that committee to consider the bill. If the committee approves the bill, which may be problematic due to the inclusion also of anti-hate-crime legislation which is opposed by most religious conservatives, it will then go for approval to the full Senate. If the Senate passes the bill, its version will then have to be reconciled with the House version, so it will be at least several months before the bill could be signed into law.
The stipulation would require any film, TV show or digital image that contains a sex scene to come under the same government filing requirements that adult films must meet.
Currently, any filmed sexual activity requires an affidavit that lists the names and ages of the actors who engage in the act. The film is required to have a video label that claims compliance with the law and lists where the custodian of the records can be found. The record-keeping requirement is known as Section 2257, for its citation in federal law. Violators could spend five years in jail.
Under the provision inserted into the Children's Safety Act, the definition of sexual activity is expanded to include simulated sex acts like those that appear in many movies and TV shows.
