The Federal Trade Commission wants porn and any sexually-oriented spam labeled with a mark or notice by the middle of June 2004, the better to let recipients filter it out if they don't want it.
RatedHot owner Marsha Youngs told AVN.com she thinks as a parent that it's a good idea in concept, but that the labeling might backfire – that the labeling might actually lure kids to give it a try.
"Kids will see the ‘sexually-explicit-content’ notice and will of course have to check it out," Youngs said. "Kids are curious. I know I was. And if I had seen something marked that way, I'd look at it or bust a gut trying. Sometimes making a big issue out of something makes matters worse."
Adult Entertainment Broadcasting Network publicist Jo Hawke said if porn spam went away forever, "it wouldn't bother us… But it is not something we ever did, because we are not approaching the end-user but the Webmaster."
Required by the so-called CAN-SPAM Act, the FTC announced Jan. 28 that they would seek public comments on the proposed mark or notice the act requires: SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT-CONTENT. The FTC had to prescribe it within 120 days after CAN-SPAM was passed, meaning the deadline for public comment is Feb. 17, the commission said.
The mark or notice would be required in the subject line and "the electronic equivalent of a brown paper wrapper in the body of the message," the FTC said. "This brown paper wrapper would be what a recipient would initially see when opening a message containing sexually oriented material. It would include the prescribed mark or notice, certain other specified information, and no other information or images."
The rule would also include a definitions section to clarify that certain terms taken from CAN-SPAM and appearing in the rule "have the definitions prescribed by particular referenced sections" of the law, the FTC said.
Adult Sites Against Child Pornography executive director Joan Irvine said her group thinks ADV-ADLT would be a more effective mark or notice than SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT-CONTENT. Like Youngs, Irvine thinks the latter is a little more tempting for children to open and explore.
"The adult site industry can regulate itself," Irvine said. "Even though the adult-related spam only represented 14 percent of all spam last month, people are incensed when they receive unsolicited adult-oriented e-mails," Irvine said. "They get even more upset and vocal when children receive these e-mails."
ADV-ADLT is also "just a good business practice in today's political climate," she said. "If people want to buy adult content, they will. There is no need to hide behind vague subject labels. However, I think that ADV-ADLT is better than SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT-CONTENT as it relates to children."
