ASACP Marks Its 20th Anniversary This Year

LOS ANGELES—The Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP) is turning 20 this year. Founded in 1996 as Adult Sites Against Child Pornography, ASACP rebranded in 2005 to Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection, a non-profit, member supported organization that retained its “ASACP” title while reflecting the growing diversity of its membership and mission. ASACP has provided its globally recognized Tipline for webmasters and the public to anonymously report suspected child pornography since 1996, with its member sites linking to this active Tipline that processes thousands of reports monthly. Verified “Red Flag” reports are forwarded to the FBI, NCMEC, and European CP prevention hotlines for further action. The Tipline is funded by ASACP’s sister organization, the ASACP Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that also funds the Restricted To Adults (RTA) website meta label that works with content filtering software to provide effective, free protection against exposure to age-inappropriate materials. Contributions to the ASACP Foundation are tax deductible for American businesses and may also provide tax benefits to overseas firms. In addition to its CP Reporting Tipline and RTA meta label, ASACP provides digital media companies with a set of market-specific Best Practices, as well as a formal Code of Ethics, plus a list of banned words translated into 25 languages, and more. Other outreach materials include parental guidelines and child protection resources that have an international appeal. ASACP accomplishes so much, with so few resources, due to the dedication of its small, close-knit staff, including Executive Director Tim Henning, Operations Director Erege Macis, Membership Manager Dawn Yagielowicz, Systems Manager Cal Woodruff, Hotline Analyst Lucia Varela and Director of European Outreach Vince Charlton. This team is guided by its volunteer Advisory Council, which includes XBIZ CEO Alec Helmy, along with CCBill’s Gary Jackson, Epoch Transaction Services’ Rand Pate, AVN’s Roy Salter, AWE’s Balazs Sipocz, Mike Ackerman of Actually Helping Inc., ATKingdom’s Kim Nielsen, FFN’s Relani Belous, and Christoph Pass of SABOOM/PartnerCash, who provide valuable insights on the inner workings of today’s legitimate adult entertainment and digital media industries. ASACP enjoys the support of the adult entertainment industry, proving that the legitimate companies that make up this business are committed to protecting children. This roster includes companies such as Adult Webmaster Empire, MindGeek, Epoch, AVN, XBIZ, AdultCentro, ATKingdom, CCBill, Southern Charms, and 7Veils, along with Adam & Eve, Adult Webcam Conference, BaDoink, CAM4, Cherry Pimps, CommerceGate, Cybersocket, Cyber Stampede, Dating Gold, EPGBill, Eros, FUBAR Webmasters, Fuckbook, Fleshlight, Gamma Entertainment, Girlfriends Films, GTBill, Hustler, ImLive, Pimps Promo, Porn.com, Rabbits Reviews, Saboom, SexSearch, Sextronix, Swingers Date Club, The European Summit, The Lion’s Den, and Tubo Limited. Add to this list numerous members and supporters, as well as attorneys such as Larry Walters, Greg Piccionelli and Marc Randazza, plus the Free Speech Coalition, the Eros Association, Parents in Adult, the ACI Foundation, webmaster communities, consumers and more, and it becomes clear that ASACP’s message resonates with many stakeholders. Among the individuals supporting ASACP are adult industry business leaders and performers, some of whom have appeared in ads and Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on behalf of ASACP and RTA, including adult stars such as Chi Chi LaRue, Catalina Cruz, Kayden Kross, Kirsten Price, Riley Steele, Stormy Daniels, Sunny Leone, Tera Patrick and Evan Seinfeld, Tori Black, and Ron Jeremy. ASACP Service Recognition Award winners include Lauren MacEwen, Lawrence Walters, Marc Randazza, Greg Piccionelli, Rodney Thompson, Scott Rabinowitz, John Van Arnam, Joel Hall, Brandon Shalton, and adult stars Stormy Daniels, Tera Patrick and Evan Seinfeld, as well as Fiona Patten and Robbie Swan, plus ASACP’s Tim Henning and Vince Charlton, who were honored for their numerous contributions to the association’s success, because it is only possible through the help of us all. The association reaches out by attending as many industry gatherings as possible, to make mutually beneficial connections with business leaders, regulators and global stakeholders, while presenting its position, strategies and tools through networking, panels and seminars, and has worked with companies such as CCBill and BoodiGo.com to build a safer Internet. ASACP’s ongoing successes have resulted in widespread media coverage and accolades from numerous civic, governmental and private-sector groups due to its initiatives and its role in the closing of countless illegal websites engaged in the sexual exploitation of children. ASACP’s governmental outreach in the U.S. and abroad benefits its supporters while making a tangible difference in child protection by providing data and resources to law enforcement, legislators, policy makers and stakeholders, including the U.S. Congress and Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee, the FBI, U.S. Customs, ATVOD and Interpol, plus the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography, which includes the world’s largest financial institutions and groups such as AOL, American Express, Bank of America, Chase, Citigroup, Discover, Visa, Wells Fargo, and Yahoo, among others.Today, ASACP continues to develop new initiatives for keeping pace with our fast-changing technological environment and the significant challenges it presents. From mobile devices to virtual reality and beyond, ASACP is committed to making technology safe for children while preserving the freedoms of consenting adults — a mission it can only continue with generous financial and material support. If we all do our part, then ASACP will be around for another 20 years, and our children will be safer.A new article details the association’s founding, history, mission, achievements and awards, which can be read here, on the freshly revamped ASACP website.For more information, visit ASACP.org or email tim@asacp.org.