PR Adult

Los Angeles, CA (PRADULT) June 18, 2008 – Two professors from The Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment at The Pennsylvania State University have published an article featuring the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP). Entitled “Untangling Child Pornography From the Adult Entertainment Industry: An Inside Look At The Industry’s Efforts To Protect Minors” the article was written by Robert D. Richards, Distinguished Professor of Journalism and Law, and Clay Calvert, John and Ann Curley Professor of First Amendment Studies.

The article provides a unique, in-depth insight into the burgeoning problem of child pornography and the efforts of the U.S. adult entertainment industry to keep children safe. The article focuses primarily on an in-person interview conducted with ASACP CEO Joan Irvine that took place in July 2007. Irvine discusses the difficulty the adult industry faces both in stopping politicians from linking mainstream adult entertainment to child pornography and in changing public perception about this conflation. Irvine also discusses the RTA “Restricted to Adults” label and Paul Cambria’s testimony before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in regards to labeling.

In addition Calvert and Richards interviewed several adult industry insiders including attorneys Gregory Piccionelli and Clyde DeWitt, Paul Fishbein of AVN, and Tom Hymes of Xbiz.

“There are so many misconceptions and erroneous assumptions about the adult entertainment industry, and this article, we believe, helps to correct some important ones. In particular, the article makes it clear that the industry, with the important lead of ASACP, does not promote or otherwise have anything to do with the creation or distribution of child pornography. Indeed, the adult industry in southern California actively works against it,” stated Calvert.

Richards added, “The article breaks new ground by demonstrating the vigorous efforts of the adult industry to keep minors away from adult content. The industry is so often unfairly criticized by academics who, by and large, are probably unaware of the RTA label and the good work of the ASACP. We hope the professors and academics who constantly blast the adult entertainment industry may now see things in a different light after reading this article.”

“It is gratifying to finally see an article in a professional legal journal that is based on research by professors at Penn State University which substantiates what ASACP and the industry has been stating for years: the adult entertainment industry is not involved in child pornography and does not want children to view their content,” stated Irvine. “We plan to share this research with legislators in both Sacramento and Washington DC in hope that they will base future legislation on the reality that over 90% of the commercial child pornography is produced and distributed by organized crime in the Eastern Europe Bloc countries not by the professional adult industry.”

The article is available now online in both the LexisNexis and Westlaw legal databases, as well as in hard copy form at all law libraries and law school libraries that subscribe to the California Western Law Review.

The California Western Law Review is affiliated with the California Western School of Law, an independent law school located in San Diego that has been accredited by the American Bar Association since 1962.

For more than 15 years, the Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment has been a leader in education, research and outreach concerning the fundamental rights of free expression and free press in the United States. Founded in 1992, the Center has continuously provided educational programs, sponsored speakers, published books and articles in the popular and academic press, and served as a media resource on a wide array of First Amendment topics. The work of the Center has been cited to Congress, state legislatures and the United States Supreme Court.

Founded in 1996, the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP) is a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating child pornography from the Internet. ASACP battles child pornography through its CP reporting hotline, and by organizing the efforts of the online adult industry to combat the heinous crime of child sexual abuse. ASACP also works to help parents prevent children from viewing age-inappropriate material online. For more information, go to www.asacp.org and www.RTAlabel.org.

Contact:

Else Duff, ASACP
Tel: 323 965 1400
E-mail: else@asacp.org
Website: www.asacp.org
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