2021 Annual report

2021 marks our 30th Anniversary as the official trade association of the adult industry. If nothing else, this year reminded us just how vital our defense against censorship and discrimination is — we saw major attacks on our industry and our largest companies, in the courts, the media, the banks, and the legislatures. As always, FSC was there to fight back. The struggle is real, but so is our collective power.

Fighting the New Antiporn Movement

Many in our industry didn’t understand the true threat of the new antiporn movement until December of last year, when Visa, MasterCard, and Discover pulled processing from Pornhub. Later, we saw the same groups put pressure on other platforms, including OnlyFans. Over the past year, we’ve seen faith-based groups like NCOSE and Exodus Cry ally with antiporn feminists in an attempt to ban adult content globally. FSC has been a leading voice in the media combatting their religious censorship, and has been a hub for organizing.

Lobbying and Legislation

In January, after the new Congress was sworn in, we saw a flurry of new bills on the left and right attacking Section 230. We immediately convened a legislative committee to analyze the bills, and — alongside performer groups APAC, AILAA, and APAG — contacted Senate and House offices to stop bad bills from advancing, and worked with representatives of the House Financial Services Committee to redline two bills that posed threats to our banking access.

In June, we hired our first federal lobbyists in over a decade, and began the work of monitoring over thirty bills potentially affecting our industry. Our lobbyists are working backchannels to establish clarity on 2257 regulations and find potential ways to fight banking discrimination.

In November, FSC sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland defending OnlyFans and other adult platforms from attacks made by members of the House.

Banking Discrimination

Financial institutions now hold greater censorship power than the federal government, and banking discrimination became a major focus of our fight. In June, FSC and APAG met with MasterCard to talk about the way new regulations were threatening the independence and safety of adult content producers. Throughout the summer, we provided our members with analysis of the regulations. In October, in consultation with payment processors, FSC provided crucial guidance for platforms and producers. We are currently working to quantify the harm banking discrimination is wreaking on our businesses and workers.

Rights and Responsibilities

This year, FSC put forward tools to help those working in the adult industry report incidents of abuse, discrimination, and harassment. The FSC Resolve reporting hub, designed in conjunction with APAC and with feedback from other performer groups, is the first step in a larger arbitration plan that will help those in our industry reach more effective and satisfactory resolutions for their disputes. We’re soon to release a Code of Conduct for production to help standardize responsibilities and rights on set.

INSPIRE Program

FSC has continued to expand the INSPIRE educational program for performers. As the business model continues to shift, FSC has hosted numerous webinars to help models learn how to grow and manage their own businesses. Our “Life as a Sex Worker” series that covered topics like parenting and coming out to your family and community will continue in 2022.

PASS

This year, PASS officially became its own organization, with a separate Executive Director and Board. While we will continue to provide funding support for their efforts and work together on common goals, this will allow FSC and PASS to more fully develop and fulfill their own missions.

While it has been a difficult year, we are a stronger industry and organization than we were at the start. We have developed important alliances, built institutional muscle, and secured important victories. We thank all of our members, contributors, and advocates for their continued support. None of this would have been possible without you.