Are You On an Adults-Only Social Network Web Site? Big Brother Wants to Know Why
Justice Department Wants to Amend Federal Recordkeeping Law to Require Adults-Only Social Network Sites to Keep On File the Names and Addresses of Their Millions of Users for Possible 'Data-Mining'

Millions of users of adults-only social networking Web sites -- including thousands of social networking groups hosted by Internet giants Yahoo! Inc., Google Inc. and Microsoft's MSN Network -- could find their personal information "data-mined" by the federal government if a proposed amendment to a federal Internet recordkeeping law is adopted. (Photo: Fethi Belaid/Agence France-Presse)
WEDNESDAY NEWS EXTRA
By Heather Cassell
Bay Area Reporter
(With additional reporting by Skeeter Sanders)
SAN FRANCISCO -- If you're a member of an adults-only social networking Web site -- and you have sexually explicit photos of yourself posted on it -- the federal government wants to know who you are and why you're doing it.
A proposed amendment to a federal recordkeeping law could force adults-only social networks and other Internet sites to gather and maintain users' identification and addresses.
Some of the largest adults-only social networking Web sites, such as AdultFriendFinder.com, GayFriendFinder.com and BisexualPlayground.com, have millions of users from across the nation and around the world -- many of whom have sexually explicit photos of themselves posted on them.
Even the three major Internet search giants -- Yahoo! Inc., Google Inc. and Microsoft Inc.'s MSN Network -- host literally hundreds of thousands of social-networking groups on their sites, many of which are also adults-only and have multi-million-member subscriber bases.
But unlike the stand-alone adult networking sites, which require their members to enter a user-selected password to gain access, the groups on the Big Three search engines are open to almost anyone.
Civil liberties organizations have slammed the proposal, and have submitted comments to the Justice Department on behalf of adult social networking and adult entertainment Web sites that could be severely crippled by the amendment to the federal labeling and recordkeeping law.
Public comment about the new rules and regulations to Section 2257 of the recordkeeping law closed last Monday. The new regulations are a product of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which is designed to prevent sexual and other violent crimes against children, and regulate sexually explicit digital images online.
The regulations call for stiff penalties -- including up to five years imprisonment -- if businesses don't comply.
"The proposed amendment to the federal labeling and recordkeeping law will surely at the least have a chilling effect on users of social networking Web sites, and at the worst [is] an outright and unacceptable invasion of privacy," wrote Roberta Sklar, a spokeswoman for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), in an e-mail to the Bay Area Reporter.
According to Diane Duke, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition in Canoga Park, California, the Justice Department could take up to eight months to process public comments about the proposal before issuing the new regulations. After the Justice Department issues the new requirements businesses will have 30 days to comply.
Duke told the Bay Area Reporter that the Free Speech Coalition would file a lawsuit seeking an injunction if changes aren't made to the regulations to protect individuals' privacy rights.
Personal Info of Millions of Users Could Be Subject to 'Data-Mining'
The regulations require secondary producers, such as dating and social networking Web sites, to gather and maintain personal information from every user who posts a "sexually explicit" photo, according to the NGLTF.
Civil liberties organizations stated that the language in the amendment lacks clarity about how personal information -- which would be subject to investigation without probable cause or warrants -- could be used by the federal government and maintain the regulations violate individuals' rights to privacy and free speech and causes concerns about security.
"The [new] regulations seem to be sweeping with a much broader brush, using bureaucracy to curtail sexual images," said Susan Wright, media spokeswoman for the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom in Baltimore, which is aggressively working against the regulations and encouraging social networking Web site users -- particularly those who live "alternative" lifestyles -- to join the Free Speech Coalition, which also submitted public comments to the Justice Department.
Concerns Raised About 'Security Breaches' Spreading to Social Network Sites
In a letter to the Justice Department dated September 7, the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay-rights lobbying organization, also raised questions about the regulations, including security breaches that could affect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals.
In its letter, the HRC cited "707 data security breaches ... since January of 2005" and pointed out many security breaches that have become an increasing problem at major companies such as Monster.com, Bank of America, SEC Fidelity, National Information Services and Certegy Check Services Inc. -- all of which recently experienced the theft of personal information of a combined 10.1 million customers.
"As these companies with better resources than most adult networking sites can attest, maintenance of the security of sensitive data for networking sites with thousands of visitors and members can be very difficult to manage," the HRC wrote. "This creates an unreasonable risk of exposure."
Outlining more specific risks for gay individuals, The HRC cited everything from identity theft to fears of being "outed" to discrimination to hate crimes.
Critics Say New Regs Part of 'Attack' on Sexual Freedom, Sex Education
Civil-liberties organizations agreed, noting that the effect of the pending regulations and the attacks on the adult-entertainment industry under the Bush administration have led to self-censorship. According to Wright, the regulations could have an adverse effect on sexual education Web sites.
Wright told the Bay Area Reporter that she's already seen self-censorship occurring, with Web sites that cater to people who live the "alternative" lifestyle known as BDSM (bondage, discipline and sadomasochism) pulling images.
Wright also believes that the regulations could be more insidious than just including social-networking Web sites; chat groups and personal e-mail conversations could be included. The pressure, according to Wright, could lead to some networks and Web sites closing down, particularly if the groups running them are nonprofit organizations that can't afford to operate as a "primary" source for the images.
"We firmly believe it's not about enforcing the intent of the law," said Duke. "It's about putting adult entertainment out of business and seriously damaging the industry."
Fear and Loathing Rises Among Adults-Only Networking Sites
Not surprisingly, operators of adults-only social networking Web sites -- including some of the biggest in the genre -- are scared. Kevin Nyland, vice president of corporate communications and investor relations for PlanetOut Inc., owner of the social-networking site Gay.com, declined to comment, saying he didn't want to politicize the issue.
"There are a lot of legal issues surrounding it and just as a general rule we don't want to politicize the whole thing," he said. "[But] we are taking all steps necessary to maintain our knowledge about the issue and will handle it in the most appropriate way as we move forward."
OkCupid.com, a dating Web site that includes both opposite-sex and same-sex dating matches, also refused to comment about the pending rules, even after Sam Yagan, its co-founder and chief executive officer, agreed by e-mail to speak to the Bay Area Reporter about their potential effects.
Other sites, including OurChart.com, Butch-Femme.com, and the giant Craigslist.org -- which has come under mounting police and media scrutiny in recent weeks over the alleged use of its social-networking classifieds section by prostitutes and pedophiles -- also did not respond to requests for comment.
A Logistical Nightmare for Sites With Subscribers Who Live Outside the U.S.
Jonathan Crutchley, co-owner of the gay-oriented site Manhunt.net, said that with more than nine million photos posted on his site by its 1.1 million subscribers from around the globe, it would be impossible to verify the proof of age for each individual picture.
"My company is not in the business of posting pictures of children at all," said Crutchley. "But they want us to prove that we don't do that. It would just be too difficult to keep records of 9 million pictures and growing. You have to be 18 or older to join our site."
Crutchley fears that once the new regulations are enforced, he could be imprisoned for life for not being able to maintain records, especially of subscribers who live outside the U.S. and whose home countries have stricter privacy laws.
"What can they do except close the business and move to Amsterdam?" asked Crutchley, a former Republican, who is keeping a close watch on the issue. "We haven't faced that one yet."
He noted that other adults-only social networking Web sites posted banners alerting their users to the pending regulations during the past few weeks. "I think the Web sites are counting on that [federal courts striking down the new regulations as unconstitutional] rather than wanting to go public with political statements," said Crutchley. "Because if you stick your head up you might get shot."
Asked why he was willing to speak out against the regulations, Crutchley said, "I'm in serious risk, but I would say to Mr. Cheney, 'Go ahead and make my day' – someone has to."
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Volume II, Number 48
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