CENSORED! BY U.S. GOVERNMENT!
Changes to our photo policy mandated by the Bush Administration
Always on the lookout for hot guys and ways to keep people from having fun, the U.S. Dept. of Justice is taking a break from prosecuting terrorists to do something it thinks is more important: restricting your right to view and share photos online.
All member photos identified as adult on our site are temporarily unavailable for public view as the result of the sudden, and unconstitutional, decision by the U.S. Dept. of Justice to place new restrictions on all Web sites around the world that do business in the United States. (I guess nobody ever told them the internet is borderless.) Gay.com thinks your adult photos should be sexy, secure and legally protected, so we've joined with other companies to seek an injunction against this ruling. We're doing everything possible to minimize its impact on you.
What does this mean for you?
Your civil liberties are under attack by the US government!
All photos identified as adult will be temporarily unavailable from public view
Members will still be able to view their own adult photos and edit their profiles, but they temporarily won't be able to see anyone else's adult photos
Gay.com will begin reviewing all adult photos, and will make them available again for public viewing if they meet our new standards (see below)
About these new government regulations
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has previously found these regulations to be unconstitutional, yet the Bush Administration has chosen to implement them anyway
The new regulations go into effect June 23, 2005
It applies only to "sexually explicit" content, not content that is merely "lascivious" (Hmmm, I don't know what explicit means, but I know it when I see it!)
See below for a detailed, and entertaining, explanation of what's "explicit."
Your adult photos
The good news: Most of your photos are OK (including your adult photos) and will be restored once they've been approved by Gay.com, because the dirty boys at the U.S. government consider only certain poses and activities to be "sexually explicit"
The bad news: Under these regulations Gay.com will no longer be able to accept or display "sexually explicit" photos from its members for either public or private view
New standards for "sexually explicit" content on Gay.com
An image of a hand holding or touching genitals, or appearing to grip or stimulate genitals, is considered masturbation and is prohibited.
An image of a hand clearly "cupping" or covering genitals for the purposes of keeping them covered is allowable.
An image of a hand inside pants is prohibited as it implies masturbation.
Pictures with more that one person that include nudity are prohibited.
All cartoons are prohibited.
While images of a nude person on all fours is allowable, an image showing the buttocks being held apart by hands is considered explicit and is prohibited.
In the interest of safety, images of nude children (e.g., a nude baby at the beach with her two dads) will not be allowed.
A clothed person posing with a pet is allowed, but a nude person with an animal is prohibited. (No more walking your dog in the nude!)
An image of a person in a bondage or fetish outfit is allowed (but please, no polyester!).
Images that depict bondage or S&M "abuse" are prohibited. (Shockingly, images from Abu Ghraib prison would be censored under the new regulations.)
Digital images run through an illustrator filter on software will be held to these same standards
What is Gay.com doing about the regulation?
We have joined with other companies to legally challenge its enactment
We're fighting for your civil liberties and are opposing undue government interference in individual expression
We're fighting against regulations such as this because we know they have a disproportionate effect on historically isolated groups, such as the LGBT community
Make your voice heard!
Contact U.S. elected officials and the Dept. of Justice to tell them you oppose 18 U.S.C. §2257
U.S. Dept. of Justice:
www.usdoj.gov/contact-us.html
U.S. Senate:
www.senate.gov
U.S. House of Representatives:
www.house.gov
Need help? Call: 1 (866) 313-6373
(Toll-free in the U.S. and Canada)
E-mail us:
premiumservices@gay.com
Member submissions that warrant further investigation and that are subject to immediate removal from the site include depictions or descriptions of violence, bestiality, incest, child pornography and any other objectionable violations of law or user safety. Depictions that fall into the category of unacceptable adult materials are ultimately subject to Gay.com's litmus test of violation, not the user's personal opinion.
Gay.com reserves the right but is not obligated to remove any profile, including content and images, which we deem inappropriate for this site and its viewers. Further, all content and images are subject to removal, if they are otherwise in conflict with our user agreement. To the extent that anything here conflicts with the user agreement, that document controls.
