byte-sexual: recognizing the evolving relationships with our electronic devices

Does the virtual assistant on your smartphone just “get you”? For many smart phone users, interacting with a natural speech-recognizing, intelligent, digital assistant – ever-present on their devices – has become a way of life. It was impossible to imagine just a few years ago that we would become a society dependent on our bots, for everything from driving to a place we’ve never been to seeking out the latest movie reviews.  Perhaps predictably, some individuals prefer interacting with artificial intelligence over human beings.  Others have even developed ‘feelings’ Read more [...]

Walters Law Group to Conduct Legal Workshop for Camming and Dating Websites at Xbiz Summit in Miami

The law firm of Walters Law Group, through its founder, Lawrence G. Walters, and of counsel, Corey Silverstein, have been tapped to present a legal workshop focused on the issues facing live web cam and online dating sites, at the upcoming Xbiz Summit in Miami.  The attorneys will update Summit attendees on hot legal topics affecting these sites such as consumer protection complaints, lawsuits against online dating sites, 2257 compliance, Bitcoin payments, solicitation concerns, age verification, and other important issues.  As the online dating and camming business models have Read more [...]

Isaacs obscenity case & life without miller

In a not-so-surprising, albeit disappointing, decision affecting the adult entertainment industry, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld the obscenity conviction of fetish producer, Ira Isaacs. Isaacs was originally charged with violating federal obscenity statutes in 2007, after the distribution of several of his fetish films via U.S. mail. Isaacs’s 2008 trial was placed on hold and eventually resulted in a mistrial, amid judicial controversy. Judge Alex Kozinski, who presided over the obscenity prosecution, recused himself within days of commencing the trial, after Read more [...]

FTC Investigation into Misuse of Online Profiles

Lawrence Walters Comments on FTC Investigation into Misuse of Online Profiles Xbiz.com asked adult entertainment industry attorney, Lawrence Walters, for his reaction to the FTC probe of jerk.com, relating to the company’s alleged misuse of online profiles scraped from other sites: Adult industry attorney Lawrence Walters of Walters Law Group said he wasn't surprised of the charges levied against Jerk.com's operators because he's noticed that the FTC is becoming much more active in pursuing deceptive trade practices claims against social-networking website operators. This Read more [...]

Keeping Your Records Clean -Segregating 2257 Records Under Federal Law

Keeping Your Records Clean -Segregating 2257 Records under Federal Law By: Lawrence G. Walters, Esq. Walters Law Group             Model Release? Check! Performer ID’s? Check! 2257 form? Check! Throw them all into a file or load them into a database and your legal tail is covered, right? Unfortunately, XXX law is never that simple, particularly when discussing compliance with the federal regulations applied to highly-regulated, sexually-explicit content. One of the most common mistakes our firm has seen over the years with section 2257 compliance is the inclusion Read more [...]

2257 Abuse Article by First Amendment Attorney Lawrence Walters

Title 18, U.S.C. Section 2257 (“2257”) has long been a thorn in the side of content producers and webmasters in the adult industry, but now, the controversial statute is being utilized in ways never intended by the drafters of the legislation. Purportedly created as an effort designed to prevent the proliferation of child pornography, 2257 has historically been used by the federal government as a tool to enforce producer compliance with its onerous record-keeping and labeling obligations designed to verify the age of models appearing in sexually-explicit imagery. Some records Read more [...]

Xbiz Taps Lawrence Walters for Comment on Massachussetts Upskirt Ruling

XBiz.com covered the recent Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling that upskirt images and videos taken by Michael Robertson were legal and did not violate any law sine the persons are still fully clothed. Xbiz referred to adult industry attorney, Lawrence Walters, for comment, who said, "This decision dealt with a charge of ‘upskirting.’ Different states have passed a variety of differently-worded statutes to address this conduct, in recent years. The Massachusetts statute at issue here prohibited the filming of persons who were ‘nude’ or ‘partially nude. Immediately, Read more [...]

Upcoming panel apearance at the Adult Entertainment Virtual Convention

Laws, movements and acts – in this industry, these can have massive consequences on how your business operates. What impact does this have on you and what new laws should you be aware of and prepared for? Find out from the experts! On Feb. 27, 2014 at 2pm (Pacific) Lawrence G. Walters will be participating in the Politics of Porn panel along with Diane Duke, Don Parret, Greg Piccionelli, and Jerry Barnett. The panel will be moderated by Colin Rowntree and appears in conjunction with AEVC, the Adult Entertainment Virtual Convention. Don't miss out -- register now. Read more [...]