Free Speech Coalition

In response to the attacks, adult producers formed the Free Speech Legal Defense Fund (FSLDF) to pool resources.[7] In 1991, as the government attack was blunted, the FSLDF decided to select a name more reflective of its broadened role in the adult community, and the Free Speech Coalition was born. The association became closely aligned with other organizations representing the rights of free speech and civil liberties.[2]

In 1995, a comprehensive Federal scheme regulating the creation and wholesale distribution of recorded images of sexual conduct went into effect. Aimed at detecting and deterring child pornography, the Federal Labeling Law (also known as the Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act) eliminated all privacy in the creation of sexual images. Any producers of, and performers in, such materials were ordered to comply with detailed disclosure requirements. In order for the industry to comply, the FSC was essential. FSC conducted training seminars, prepared compliance documents and uniform exemption labels and negotiated with the Justice Department for relief from some of the more burdensome and unreasonable components of the law.

The FSC's response to the Federal Labeling Law that established broadly throughout the industry the necessity of a functional trade organization to assist the industry.

In 1996 the Communications Decency Act (CDA) was enacted to protect children from accessing adult material on the Internet. The Child Pornography Protection Act (CPPA) followed in 1997; this legislation sought to criminalize the depiction of minors in sexually explicit video or online content, even if those depicted in the material were over 18-years of age. The redefinition of child pornography to include adults appearing to be minors, engaging in actual or simulated sexual activity was controversial. The Senate Judiciary Committee (the committee of origin), never even held a vote on the bill, yet it was signed into law, following Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) attaching it during the Conference Committee to the October 1997 Spending Bill. Under the definition, films such as Midnight Cowboy, The Last Picture Show, Animal House, A Clockwork Orange, Halloween, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Return to the Blue Lagoon, The Exorcist, Risky Business, Porky's, Bull Durham, Blowup, Dirty Dancing, and The People vs. Larry Flynt were subject to prosecution and potentially a five-year mandatory minimum imprisonment. When these concerns were brought to Senator Hatch's staff, they responded by conceding that such films could be charged but that "legitimate" movies need not fear prosecution. The FSC challenged the constitutionality of the law. For the first time since its own redefinition as a trade association, FSC undertook litigation challenging the constitutionality of a Federal statute.

FSC filed suit against then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, charging that the CPPA abridged first amendment rights by defining protected speech as obscene or as child pornography. In 2002, FSC views were upheld in the US Supreme Court in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, the "virtual child porn" case.

In 2005, FSC filed a complaint against the Dept of Justice and then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, citing that 18 U.S.C. § 2257 regulations endangered the privacy and safety of performers by allowing private information to be accessed through the record-keeping process; also that 2257 regulations were complicated to the extent that adult producers would be unable to fully comply with the record-keeping system.

The controversial regulations have been an ongoing issue for adult industry producers and FSC. In February 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held in Connection Distributing Co. v. Holder that the record-keeping provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 2257 did not violate the First Amendment. A revised set of the § 2257 regulations was released in December 2009, prompting another complaint against the DOJ and Attorney General Eric Holder in 2010.

The FSC entered the field of lobbying in earnest in 1994, with the retention of a lobbyist in Sacramento, California's state capitol. After a year, the lobbying presence proved itself critical for the health of the national industry. A tax bill was introduced, with the purpose of assisting victims of domestic abuse and rape. An excise tax was proposed for all adult products and services, with the proceeds going to collection of the tax, law enforcement and, if anything remained, to rape counseling centers and battered victim shelters.[14]

Constitutional law had long forbade the targeting of a content-defined tax and this bill was the model of such a tax scheme. Traditionally the industry had relied solely on the judiciary to protect itself against such intrusions, and legislatures across the country have become accustomed to regulating the adult industry without consultation with the parties to be regulated. Both patterns came to a halt with this proposed tax.

The FSC led a coalition of affected businesses and industry groups in fighting the tax. The FSC argued that the tax was a dangerous, unconstitutional precedent and that it would be bad for the state's economy. During the course of the ensuing debate, the economic influence of the adult entertainment industry was established in the minds of the zero votes in support. The bill was defeated at its first committee hearing.

PASS (Performer Availability Screening Services) is a U.S. organization that maintains a database of STI testing results for pornographic actors.[15] The database is intended to help reduce or prevent the spread of STIs in the porn industry. The organization, formerly known as Adult Production Health and Safety Services (APHSS),[16] was developed by the Free Speech Coalition in 2013, following the closure of Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation.[17]

Performers are tested every fourteen days for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, hepatitis B and C and trichomoniasis.[18] According to PASS, there has not be an on-set transmission of HIV on a regulated set since 2004.[19][20]

During the global COVID-19 pandemic, a special task force met to determine how to incorporate a test for COVID-19. All performers and crew are now tested for COVID-19 with the date of test posted in the PASS database.[21] Researchers have suggested that the PASS testing system may be a model for other industries.[22]

In February 2015, the FSC announced an affiliation with the First Entertainment Credit Union. The arrangement with make member financial services available to approved production studios employees and their families, primarily in the adult film industry. Diane Duke, CEO of the FSC, stated "We are thrilled to be able to offer active FSC members and their families the opportunity to access First Entertainment for their banking needs and many other financial services. Especially because of difficulties faced by industry members that have had their business turned away by other institutions."[23]

The Free Speech Coalition also presents an Award of Excellence at the Cybersocket Web Awards (won in 2010 by CorbinFisher.com)[74]