It seems that a lot of webmasters are under this false perception that 2257 is off the table. This of course is based on the late 2005 federal court ruling that established a temporary injunction on select components of the new 2257 regulations. What many in the industry have overlooked, or elected to ignore, is the ruling did not enjoin 2257 and its regulations in their entirety.

The requirement to publish custodian of record information for all sexually explicit materials in a publication, often referred to as The Label Law, is still in full force. The requirements for how this information must be displayed are detailed, and arguably confusing. Notwithstanding lack of clarity, anyone subject to US law must comply, or fear criminal prosecution.

This lack of compliance appears to be most prominent among adult bloggers. In my recent survey of several dozen blogs, publishing sexually explicit images, none had posted the required documentation.

The risk factor in ignoring the “Label Law” requirements is anyone’s guess. It is, nonetheless, a risk that many are taking - intentionally or not.

Some may be of the belief that no action will be taken under 2257 until its challenges have been litigated. While there is an argument to be made for this, I don’t see the “Label Law” going away unless 2257 is completely removed from the books - a scenario that does not seem likely.

At the very least, US webmasters should ask them selves what would be involved in meeting the “Label Law” requirements one or two years from now. Having to quickly go back and document several years of published content is an exercise more painful than having teeth pulled. The only alternative would be to suffer the financial impact of shutting down and starting over again.