Kinx.com, a San Francisco fetish porn company is charged with a hefty amount of fine for permitting their employees to perform in films without using condoms.
The parent company Cybernet Entertainment recently received the fine from Calif. officials, charging the company's negligent prophylactic policy as a contributor to dangerous working conditions. The website is popular for niche films portraying scenes of dominance and submission and was connected to two HIV positive performers last year, DailyMail reports.
"The fines are excessive, and, we believe, politically motivated," said Cybernet founder Peter Acworth in a statement. "The complaints which prompted the inspection were not made by actual employees, but by outside groups with a long history of opposition to adult film."
Records from the Calif. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (CALOSHA) indicate numerous citations from August against the porn producer which includes an optional policy on the use of condoms which bore to $75,000 in fines. Peter Melton, CALOSHA spokesperson, said the 'significant' fines were due to multiple complaints filed against the company last year.
The inspection was prompted by a complaint from an AIDS Healthcare Foundation followed by the levying of the fines. The advocacy group was the main agent behind the legislation mandating all porn performers in the L.A County to wear condoms while filming.
To which website spokesperson Mike Stabile responded: "We're all for sensible regulation that protects performers but this essentially amount to a moral crusade. It's a solution in search of a problem." The performers with HIV contracted the disease off-set; however their non-requirement to wear protection while on set puts the entire cast at risk of infection.
State legislators voted down a law that require performers to wear condoms while on the job but CALOSHA requirements posit they be worn to minimize the exposure to blood and other bodily fluids. Treasure Island Media, another adult film producer, lost an appeal of a similar nature last month, leading to a fine of $9,000.
Reports suggest that 95 percent of the industry has already relocated to Las Vegas after the implementation of a law requiring condoms to be used in L.A.
