The Porn Performer STD Database Is Back

A controversial database containing the STI statuses of porn performers is back, in slightly revised form. The porn industry has argued that the database, which contains results from tests conducted every 30 days and can take a performer out of commission, works better than mandatory condom use.

The old database was run by the industry-funded AIM Medical Associates, which shut down for financial reasons, and had been sued by two performers last year, who said their privacy had been violated. Some results from the database turned up in Pornwikileaks, along with other private information, until the site was shut down with the help of the FBI.

The system drew renewed criticism when Derrick Burts tested positive for HIV and became an advocate for mandatory condom use, though the facts of how he contracted HIV are in dispute. He’d previously worked in gay porn, where mandatory condom use is more common.

Whereas the old database had specific test results, the new one will only say whether performers can work.