Los Angeles (April 13, 2005) – The Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP.org) is the association that helps the adult Internet industry make a difference in the battle against child pornography. In addition to its child pornography reporting hotline and online reporting tools, ASACP provides a self-regulatory vehicle for its members through a Code of Ethics that promotes the protection of children through responsible, professional business practices.

"ASACP reviews all the sites that apply to become an ASACP Approved Member. Its Membership Coordinator has noticed that a number of sites do not have a warning page that include all necessary disclaimers, age verification, etc and EXCLUDES images to prevent children from unknowingly viewing adult material including any access pages as recommended in its Best Practices. So we felt it important to remind the industry of the importance of this practice, especially in today’s political climate”, Joan Irvine, Executive Director, ASACP.

ASACP’s Best Practices are only what it recommends to its members and should not be construed as legal advice. Attorneys may recommend different methods for legal protection. Differing opinions exist as to what legally constitutes online child protection.

At the recent Phoenix Forum, Greg A. Piccionelli, Esq, a partner with Piccionelli & Sarno, warned ‘keep the kids out of the material, keep the kids away from the material… Protection of the children is the one thing that people from both sides of the aisle agree on.” In addition, Mr. Piccionelli stated that hard core/sexual explicit images only be in the member area that requires a credit card for access. More detail can be found here: http://xbiz.com/article_piece.php?cat=40&id=8798 .

Lawrence Walters, Esq, a partner with Weston, Garrou, DeWitt & Walters, developed a Birthdate Verifier (http://www.birthdateverifier.com/) system that goes one step further and actually blocks entry to the entire site until the user submits an ‘electronic affidavit’ affirming the user’s date of birth, which is electronically signed in accordance with federal E-SIGN legislation.

Various age verification methods are available, and ASACP urges its members to implement one or more systems to prevent minors from accessing adult materials.

Two articles on the issue of age verification can be found here:

http://www.firstamendment.com/protecting_banner.php3
http://www.firstamendment.com/free_sites.php

All images depicting sexually explicit conduct should be shielded from access by minors.“Sexually explicit conduct” means actual or simulated. The definition of Sexually Explicit Conduct according to TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 110 > § 2256 “Sexually explicit conduct” means actual or simulated:

1. sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex;
2. bestiality;
3. masturbation;
4. sadistic or masochistic abuse; or
5. lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person;

For further information visit the ASACP site (www.asacp.org) or contact Joan Irvine, [email protected].