LOS ANGELES — Agatha Vega has nabbed the 2024 XBIZ Europa Awards for both Female Performer of the Year and Best Sex Scene — Feature/Featurette (Hotel Vixen, Season 2).
“Each of these recognitions is the result of hard work, dedication, and passion for what I do,” said Vega. “I want to thank all my fans, the team that supports me, and the industry professionals who believed in me.”
View a complete list of 2024 XBIZ Europa Award winners here.
Follow Agatha Vega on X.com.
LOS ANGELES — Chaturbate is hosting its fourth annual “Health and Wellness” event online on Monday, Sept. 23, with panels scheduled throughout the day.
The event begins with the “Building Healthy Relationships” panel at 10 a.m. (PDT), moderated by Nicoletta Heidegger, Sexologist, MA, MEd and featuring Chaturbate broadcasters MyGigiDior, Tantric_Eden_ and Colbyknox.
At 11 a.m., Clinical Sex Therapist Eva Clay will moderate the “Fostering a Welcoming Community at Chaturbate” panel, with MaryMoody, TheJohnnyStone and AndyLynnPayne.
Content creator and performer Nicole Aniston will deliver the keynote speech at noon, titled “Balancing Boundaries: Tips for Thriving in Online and Personal Relationships.”
The event will conclude with “The Social Media Mirror: Influencing Beauty and Cosmetic Choices” at 1 p.m., moderated by Dr. Roher M.D, featuring panelists MelissaStratton, Jill (of JackandJill), SweetKarmaBaby and SureCakes.
“We are thrilled to host Health & Wellness for its fourth consecutive year and so excited for these panels and speakers,” said Chaturbate COO Shirley Lara. “For anyone working in the creator space, we think this year’s theme is especially timely and relevant. Our discussion panels are aimed at empowering Broadcasters to thrive professionally and personally amidst the challenges of working in this hyper-connected digital world. We hope everyone can join us.”
The event is free and open to all broadcasters. To participate, log into the chatroom here.
For more information, visit Chaturbate.
WASHINGTON — The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) urged the U.S. Supreme Court through a brief filed Monday to strike down Texas’ age verification law as unconstitutional.
The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas, and Quinn Emanuel today filed a brief in the Supreme Court on behalf of the Free Speech Coalition (FSC) and other plaintiffs in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, arguing that the age verification provision in Texas’s HB 1181 violates the First Amendment by improperly burdening adults’ right to access sexual content online.
HB 1181 requires any website that publishes content one-third or more of which is “harmful to minors” — a broad category that includes virtually any explicit content — to force their visitors to provide digital IDs or other proof of age before they can access the published material, regardless of what is on the other two-thirds of the site.
“Adults in America have a First Amendment right to read about sexual health, see R-rated movies, watch porn, and otherwise access information about sex if they want to. They should be allowed to exercise that right as they see fit, without having to worry about exposing their personal identifying information in the process,” said Vera Eidelman, staff attorney with the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. “Rather than requiring adults to give up their privacy in order to watch and read content the government doesn’t like, legislators should focus on shaping a safer internet through things like voluntary content filters, which give control to people, not the government.”
Texas claims this provision is about protecting minors from accessing sexual content deemed harmful to them, not regulating disfavored content, but it does not merely restrict minors’ access. It also restricts adults’ access, requiring them to identify themselves online and burdening their ability to exercise their First Amendment rights to see sexual content or any other material on a regulated site. As the brief explains, requiring individuals to verify their ages before accessing this protected speech robs people of anonymity, and threatens to bar individuals—for example, those who lack government identification or whose age is misidentified by the relevant technology—from accessing certain websites altogether. Such a restriction is not necessary given the availability of other options, like content filtering, that could accomplish the government’s goal while imposing less of a burden on speech.
“While Texas’ law may sound reasonable on its face, in practice, it is extraordinarily burdensome and invasive, effectively deterring adults from accessing legal content,” said Alison Boden, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition. “To make matters worse, this law – and ones like it – fail at their stated goal of protecting children online, despite forcing adult content creators and consumers to operate under the threat of surveillance and censorship.”
At the same time, the law will not accomplish its stated goal. Because the law only applies if one-third of a site’s content is explicit, social media sites that offer much of the same content, but as a smaller proportion of their total offerings, avoid the law’s requirement. And search engines are exempted entirely, meaning minors can access exactly the same sexual content online via such sites. Moreover, the law’s requirement that regulated sites issue unscientific health warnings about the negative effects of exposure to pornography illustrate the state’s distaste for the regulated speakers.
Before the case reached the Supreme Court, a district court briefly blocked the law from being enforced, concluding that the law’s age verification provision would unconstitutionally chill the speech of adults. However, a divided Fifth Circuit panel vacated that injunction, reasoning that the age verification provisions’ burden on adults’ First Amendment rights merely has to have some rational basis–not face strict scrutiny–because the aim is to protect children. Unless the Supreme Court issues a reversal, this decision will overturn decades of precedent protecting the free speech rights of adults.
In prior cases brought by the ACLU, the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that requiring users to verify their age to access protected content is unconstitutional where there are less restrictive alternatives available, like filtering software. In Reno v. ACLU, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that anti-indecency provisions of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, also meant to protect children, violated the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech in part because of the burden it imposed on adults. In Ashcroft v. ACLU, the Court held that a law almost identical to the Texas law had to satisfy strict scrutiny because it restricted adults’ access to protected sexual speech. Where a less-restrictive alternative exists—for example, the voluntary installation of filtering software on minors’ devices—the government cannot impose age verification on adults in the name of protecting children.
Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton is one of several cases in which the ACLU has urged courts to reject age verification schemes that would burden the free speech rights of internet users as part of the organization’s long tradition of defending online free expression.
The ACLU’s brief in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton is a part of the ACLU’s Joan and Irwin Jacobs Supreme Court Docket.
LOS ANGELES — XSite Bunny has partnered with Stride to provide healthcare options to creators.
The partnership will “provide instant access to affordable healthcare for all registered creators on the platform,” said a rep. “In an ever-evolving global economy, this initiative reflects XSite Bunny’s commitment to supporting the well-being of its creators beyond content creation.
“XSite Bunny creators can now seamlessly connect to healthcare solutions tailored to their needs,” the rep added. “Whether it’s medical, dental or vision coverage, Stride’s healthcare options are designed to be flexible and affordable, aligning with the dynamic lifestyles of independent creators.”
XSite Bunny’s Director of Digital Assets Gahsh Henry enthused about the partnership.
“At XSite Bunny, we believe that taking care of your health should never be a barrier to doing what you love,” said Henry. “In a world where creators juggle multiple responsibilities, from creating content to managing their finances, our partnership with Stride brings much-needed relief by offering healthcare solutions that work for them.”
For more information, click here.
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Jewelz Blu is touting her appearances on the ‘Camming Life’ podcast.
Over the summer, Blu made two appearances on therapist Nicoletta Heidegger’s podcast. The first episode was “Coping with Anxiety,” and the second was “Facing Impostor Syndrome.”
“I’m thrilled to be part of the ‘Camming Life’ quick advice videos,” said Blu. “It’s a fantastic platform to share personal experiences and advice. I hope viewers find my insights helpful and gain a better understanding of the challenges we all face.”
Follow Jewelz Blu on X.com.
LOS ANGELES — Irogenia is featured in the latest release from AnalVids, alongside Paul Stalker.
“This Frenchie ‘geek’ content creator decided to take things to the next level,” the synopsis reveals. “The result of this encounter is an epic outdoor scene, taking advantage of these last days of sunshine, where Irogenia thus proves that she has all the capabilities to go even further in hardcore anal scenes.”
The scene is streaming on AnalVids.
Follow Irogenia on X.com.
Back in college, before she ever shot any adult videos or content, Hailey Rose had a particularly memorable sexual experience. Now, Rose and her real-life partner, fellow award-winning creator Max Fills, have joined forces with a mainstream director to create a retelling of that encounter.
TOKYO — The immensely popular Japanese manga industry is reporting increasing pressure from multinational credit card companies — many based in the U.S. and directly targeted by anti-porn crusades by religious conservatives — to censor their contents to maintain their current payment processing arrangements.
A recent report by financial news site Nikkei Asia noted that manga retailers are now being told by payment service providers that they are “infringing the rules” established by American credit card brands.
“An executive from the retailer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were told that if they continued to use that card, they could face a penalty of up to hundreds of thousands of dollars a day,” Nikkei Asia reported.
In a scenario familiar to many adult industry companies and creators, the processor passing on the information did not disclose what the specific infringements were, leaving the retailers to have to guess which of their content was being questioned.
In the end, according to the report, the retailer “had no choice but to stop taking payment by overseas credit card, even though that was how the majority of their online payments were received.”
“We’ll have to reduce our platform’s dependence on adult content,” the executive told Nikkei Asia. “If we want to expand our market, we’d better stick with the global standards.”
Although some sources requested anonymity, Nikkei Asia did identify popular out-of-print comics online source Manga Library Z as one of the sites that were asked to censor their offerings under penalty of losing their ability to process payments.
Manga Library Z co-founder, manga artist Ken Akamatsu — who is also a legislator — explained that “Japan’s rich creative industry, including manga, anime and games, was born out of its freedom of expression.”
He also noted that non-Japanese credit card companies are actively targeting manga alongside producers and distributors of porn, known locally as AV video.
“The next request from card brands could be to ban novels or violent scenes altogether,” Akamatsu added. “Some say Japan should comply with the global standards. But if Japanese content becomes too globalized and loses its unique charm, it will also lose its appeal and demand from overseas.”
Much like their U.S. and international counterparts, legal scholars and free speech activists are invoking the “chilling effect” that these business practices can have on free expression about sexuality.
“If a certain genre of expression were to be taken down because of potentially harming card brands’ reputation, that could lead to considerable intimidation in the realm of free expression,” law professor Yoko Shida said.
This feature article appears in the August 2024 issue of X3 magazine, a publication dedicated to capturing the genuine personalities, passions, and stories of emerging and established stars. X3 magazine is published by XBIZ Media.
“I’m a ‘Go! Go! Go!’ person,” TruKait tells us in that charming, laid-back Texas-and-Tennessee twang so familiar to her legion of fans.
We are at her new home in the San Fernando Valley, north of Los Angeles. Our interview was originally scheduled for a nearby coffee spot, but Kait relocated it last-minute because a couple of handymen were still installing her new TV. They finish up, smile at Kait and take their leave.
If Kait is normally ‘Go! Go! Go!’ then middle-of-a-move Kait is even more so.
“I just bought this house,” she shares, gesturing at the pool being drained, curtains being hung and couches being swapped. “All this stuff is getting done because I’m really good at talking to people. Even though I’m a girl, contractors take me seriously because I can turn that side on and be like, ‘Let’s get to work!’
“They also like me because I’m cute,” she confides. “If I wear a shirt that shows my tits” — she indicates the shirt she is wearing, which fits that description — “they’re like, ‘Oh, we’ll definitely do this.’ Those guys just installed my TV for free.” She smiles sweetly.
If you think that scenario sounds right out of the beginning of a porno — the house in the Valley, the handymen, the revealing shirt — you would be correct, but also not at all. There’s a real complexity to Kait, one that clichés cannot really capture.
The most striking thing about Kait, which you pick up on immediately upon listening to her, is that she’s both serious and dynamic. She means everything she says and she’s always working on improvements — home, work, personal, you name it.
She also means business, in the broader sense of the word. Every story she tells shows self-discipline and a hunger for getting things done.
“This is how I got into bodybuilding,” she explains. “I was in track in high school, but I would skip track class and go run on the treadmill and watch what the bodybuilders were doing — and I just copied what they were doing. I’m very much an observer.”
Kait describes working out as therapy.
“It helps release all my pent-up energy,” she adds.
For the full article and pictorial, click here.
AMSTERDAM — The Dutch government plans to continue investigating the local porn industry in the Netherlands, following a series of abuse allegations involving photographer and self-styled “model scout” Daniël van der W.
According to a June report by Dutch news source De Volkskrant, Van der W. “recruited hundreds of women, mainly from the Czech Republic, for the production of porn and forced prostitution over a period of twenty years.” De Volkskrant characterized the allegations against Van der W. as “exploitation” and “trafficking.”
The same outlet reported this week that in 2023, the government conducted an investigation into alleged “abuses in the porn world,” which concluded with no official charges being brought.
Opposition MP Harmen Krul lambasted the government, decrying what he termed the “disgusting incompatibility” between the 2023 investigation and the June report.
“It has now become apparent that such abuses also occur in the Dutch environment,” Krul said, “while the minister had previously vehemently denied this.”
Minister of Justice David van Weel said he will instruct the WODC, his agency’s research and data center, to conduct a more in-depth investigation into possible abuses.
The investigation into the local adult industry comes amid a tightening of sex-work laws in the country, with the new cabinet favoring raising the age for legal prostitution from 18 to 21.