Crackdown on the Web.

A newly expanded version of an old law may spell the end for many porn Web sites as well as sexy gay Internet personals. Under the federal government's stricter regulations, which took effect June 23, all Web sites with explicit adult content must now keep thorough records proving that all models on the sites are 18 or older--even if the content comes from another source--and the sites must make the records available for inspection every week.

After the amended regulation--U.S. Code, title 18, section 2257---was published in May, Web sites scrambled to update their paperwork while others shut down altogether. Gay.com temporarily took down all personals photos it thought could possibly be illegal under 2257.

The new regulation also contains guidelines defining what is or is not sexually explicit, and punishment for violating the guidelines has increased, with a first-time offender receiving up to five years in prison. The Free Speech Coalition, whose members include Gay.com's parent company, PlanetOut Inc., filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new guidelines. At a hearing on June 23 the Department of Justice agreed not to enforce the new rules against coalition members until one month after another hearing scheduled for August 8.

"We think that this is an incredible effort by the U.S. Department of Justice to infringe upon individual civil liberties," says Donna Gibbs, senior vice president of marketing and communications for PlanetOut. "That's why we joined the Free Speech Coalition and other companies to work to gain a permanent injunction against the new regulations and to ultimately defeat the act,"

Although 2257 applies to both gay and straight material, Gibbs and others are speculating that gay sites will become a target. "In the past, whenever there have been free speech and right to privacy issues, they have often unfairly impacted the LGBT community as a relatively isolated group," Gibbs said.