LAS VEGAS—Attendees of InterNext, the business expo that coincides with AVN Adult Entertainment Expo at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, on Jan. 24 were treated to a lively foray into the deepest depths of age verification laws during a crucial panel that brought on scores of crowds.
Corey Silverstein and Lawrence Walters, both high-profile First Amendment attorneys specializing in adult entertainment clientele, shared the InterNext main stage with representatives from the age verification providers industry, including Iain Corby of the Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA), Jamie Mingot of Gataca, Alastair Graham of AgeChecked, and a delegation from AV provider firm Ondato led by Jonas Petraševičius.
Silverstein, filling in for the InterNext-appointed moderator, began the jam-packed panel session with an update on the elephant in the room for many in the audience: the U.S. Supreme Court case of Free Speech Coalition et al. v. Paxton.
The Free Speech Coalition and the parent companies of the world’s largest adult tube sites sued the state of Texas over House Bill (HB) 1181.
HB 1181 is regarded as one of the more invasive and inequitable age verification laws adopted by a legislative body in the United States.
Oral arguments were held on Jan. 15, and all of the applicable stakeholders—adult industry companies, the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, age verification companies, religious groups, and civil society organizations from across the political spectrum—showed support for their side.
During that nearly three-hour session, the lead counsel for the Free Speech Coalition, attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union, argued that the First Amendment should be upheld and that HB 1181 should be rendered unconstitutional on free speech grounds.
Considering this lurking specter, so to speak, Silverstein began the panel by offering initial reactions to the oral arguments. In the words of First Amendment attorney Allan Gelbard, Silverstein and Walters were more “ra-ra” and optimistic about what they observed at the high court on Jan. 15.
Silverstein explained to the crowd that this panel would be an informational session and a time to answer several people’s “jaw-breaking questions.” After laying out the panel’s structure, Silverstein handed the microphone to Walters of the Walters Law Group of Longwood, Florida, to brief the audience.
“One of the first laws passed was in Texas, and it allowed for aggressive enforcement actions by both civil plaintiffs and the Attorney General’s office,” Walters explained.
“That law was challenged by the Free Speech Coalition along with other plaintiffs and was originally enjoined, meaning it was struck down by the trial court based on it being unconstitutional and in violation of the First Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, and something called Section 230 [of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.”
Walters further explained that the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rendered an “off-the-rails decision” calling the Texas law, HB 1181, constitutional.
“Every other decision on online age verification [by the courts] has used a very different test called the strict scrutiny test and almost without exception has struck down these laws as being unconstitutional because of the burden imposed on adults when trying to access constitutionally protected speech,” he said.
“It’s unconstitutional to impose such a burden,” concluded Walters.
Silverstein followed up on Walters’ initial spiel about the status of the Supreme Court effort. Silverstein explained, “So we obviously sided with the Free Speech Coalition’s position, and we (Silverstein and Walters) filed our own amicus brief and explained our reasons as to why we believe [the] Texas age verification law is unconstitutional.”
“You know, I still believe that the Supreme Court is very wise,” expressed Silverstein. “Despite what was said during the oral arguments, I believe that we’re going to be in good shape. It’s going to be scary; it’s going to be a little lumpy. But we are going to get there.”
Silverstein handed off the mic to AVPA’s Iain Corby, who was on the other side of the Free Speech Coalition and the American Civil Liberties represented plaintiff class.
AVN has reported extensively on the Age Verification Providers Association, Corby, and his inconsistent record of showing signals of wish to collaborate with adult industry firms, stakeholders, and the coalition itself. He was invited to Internext to provide the multidimensional complexity of the issue of age verification, including opposition.
“We wanted to make sure that the call has the latest technical understanding of what is possible” with age verification, said Corby. “Essentially, our argument is if you can put a man on the moon, you can prove your age without disclosing your identity.”
He added, “The line of question from the Supreme Court justices was very impressive. [How] they pass the questioning from one to another seamlessly was amazing. I think it is extremely likely that the Free Speech Coalition will win this case, so I think it will be sent back to the lower court, and they'll be told to apply the struct scrutiny standard.”
This was quite an admission from Corby, which surprised Silverstein, Walters, the other panel members, and the audience. What ensued was a tête-à-tête between Silverstein and Corby on the efficacy and financial motivations behind age verification companies’ presence at a trade conference typically featuring adult industry companies.
As this fizzled, time was allotted to the representatives of the age verification companies on the panel. Alastair Graham of AgeChecked, who is also the chair of AVPA’s executive committee and one of the original driving forces behind the formation of the trade group, was next to speak.
He wanted to pitch to the audience a new initiative his company is involved with called AgeAware. The Ondato delegation explained how they’re integrated with significant content platforms like OnlyFans and other fan sites. They are also developing an age verification solution to help platforms comply with consumer age checks.
Jamie Mingot extended the conversation to include Gataca’s continued development of self-sovereign identity wallets to offer a decentralized and anonymized approach to age verification in the United States.
However, one element that several attendees of the age verification panel shared is that the largest market for adult industry consumers in North America, especially the United States, has a patchwork of varying age verification regulations at the state level and very weak data protection laws. An industry brand manager who provides services to BIPOC performers from across the United States also raised the concern of artificial intelligence and the role of age estimation technology during the Q&A.
Suffice it to say that the age verification panel was one of the most popular during the InterNext track of the Adult Entertainment Expo this past weekend. A few other legal seminars were had, including legal workshops for creators, which featured many of the same speakers and attorneys. Michael Fattorosi, an adult entertainment IP attorney, provided a seminar on DMCA, content protection, and general compliance. One panel featured Gelbard, another First Amendment attorney whose most recent success was in the LA Direct Models case against Derek Hay, Portland, Ore.,-based pro-domme-and-attorney Bliss Suh, Legal Fans legal tech agency, and tax law and CPA consultants.
Alison Boden, the Free Speech Coalition executive director, appeared on several panels and received a standing ovation for her leadership of the trade group during the Supreme Court case. While InterNext is typically an expo focusing on varying trends, including law, that impact adult industry businesses, one of the main themes (if not the central theme) of this year’s edition of the B2B summit was the “new world,” so to speak, professionals face with age verification and a growing conservatism globally.
