During the afternoon today, our President Alana Evans, met with Assembly Person Lorena Gonzalez to discuss AB5 and how it impacts workers in the adult industry. Due to AB5, we have seen a shift in business practices from adult film sets, to webcam streaming platforms. As many of us work to understand what compliance looks like, who is required to follow, and how it will affect their business, performers are being affected on a mass scale. This was the focus of our conversation.
As we sat in the San Diego office of Assembly Person Gonzalez, we discussed what has changed due to AB5. We shared with Lorena the financial burden that has impacted our camming community with the loss of our independent tax status, and the inability to reclaim business expenses, while watching our percentages continue to decrease due to third party employers. We took the time to explain the intricacies of our jobs, the required investment, and the control we retain over our broadcasts. Lorena took the time to listen, learn, and understand our issues. As she heard our concerns, she had one of her own, the percentages webcam companies take from their performers.
As we brought our meeting to a close, the conversation of content providers was discussed. As Lorena’s office works to create professional exemptions, this includes content distribution providers such as istock, Getty images, etc. Because these platforms are used to distribute content created by individuals, they do not fall under AB5 jurisdiction. When we asked if this would also pertain to content websites such as Onlyfans, Clips4Sale, AVNStars, and such, we were informed this would be correct. We were pleased to confirm that content distribution websites are not required to follow AB5 as far as the content providers were concerned.
In summary, our meeting with Assembly Person Lorena Gonzalez went very well and we are thankful for the opportunity to represent our members on this important issue. We look forward to the reform bill and expect to see language that will comfort our community and restore our jobs.
