Porn Industry Loses Appeal Against Mandatory Condom Law

On Monday, the adult entertainment industry lost its appeal against Los Angeles County’s controversial “Measure B,” a referendum passed in 2012 requiring actors in the pornographic films to wear condoms. Vivid Entertainment, Califa Productions and others tried to argue that the measure violated their First Amendment rights—that on-screen condom usage would hamper the viewer’s ability to fantasize with visual reminders of the possibility of pregnancy and STD’s—but the 9th Circuit Court of appeals shot this down.

According to Judge Susan P. Graber, the free speech argument falls short because there is no set interpretation for condomless sex in porn:

“Here, we agree with the district court that, whatever unique message plaintiffs might intend to convey by depicting condomless sex, it is unlikely that viewers of adult films will understand that message.”

For those of you just catching up on this saga, this First Amendment argument is one of many bones (sorry) the porn industry has to pick with Measure B. Vivid et al. maintains that frequent internal testing renders condoms unnecessary, and actors like James Deen have referenced the potential injuries caused by condoms used in “not-standard pounding types of situations.”

However, this latest ruling follows yet another wave of HIV scares and filming moratoriums for the industry; although Diane Duke, CEO of the Free Speech Coalition, proclaimed that “this decision will hurt performers,” the industry’s overall response has been tepid thus far. (Deen, a formerly vocal opponent, hasn’t had much to say this time around.)