The Adult Industry Trade Association are scum.

[joe king]

[rednose]

It's clearly a cartel!. I for a long time have objected to paying ?40 for a DVD from my local sex shop, its not like they are investing in pleasent shopping experience.

Let's vote with our feet and only buy off the net!

Rednose

[Heathray]

I imagine most local sex shops will disappear very quickly if HC appears on Sky....

Looks like the rip off merchants are protecting themselves by fucking UK sat viewers chances.

I honestly believe we will have HC, it is a matter of when not if........

[tigertim]

looks like the links broken down on the ofcom site, must be few people trying to acess it, cant believe what the toe rags have done

[MisterC]

Messrs Sullivan and Gold I assume?

[Paul Tavener]

ATIA are total hypocrites and they should be ashamed of themselves. The claim that face to face sale of R18 video is necessary to protect children is an insult to the intelligence. IF adults are not responsible enough to keep a PIN code out of the hands of children then they are hardly responsible enough to keep an R18 video out of the hands of children! Such nonsense will only play into the hands of the Mediawatchers and add to the existing paranoia about explicit sex in certain quarters.

It is all to clear that the ATIA response is simply voicing a concern of Sex shop owners that they will loose money dressed up as a concern for the protection of children. I would have had a great deal of sympathy for ATIA had they adopted an honest approach along the lines of ?we agree R18 should be on TV, BUT we want changes made to the way in which Sex shop licences are managed to create a level playing field.?, but I am not going to stand up for them if they can?t be bothered to stand up for us.

It is fortunate indeed that Ofcom?s purpose is furthering the interests of consumers and citizens (not the interests of the ATIA) and that Ofcom have no remit concerning Sex shops whatsoever. It is also fortunate that the group within Ofcom that deals with standards also deals with competition and ensuring that consumers get value for money.

[joe king]

the text:

'Tel/Fax: 0161 2734355 Email: info@aita.co.uk www.aita.co.uk
OFCOM
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London
SE19HA
Friday 29th October 2004
Dear
I am writing on behalf of the Adult Industry Trade Association (AITA), of which I am a committee member.
AITA was set up in May 03 to ensure that the interests of the adult industry are adequately represented to
the Government, regulators and the media. We provide services to members, in particular information on
relevant legislation and regulations; we promote the adult industry generally and seek to raise standards
and perceptions.
Since our launch AITA has concentrated on two main areas. Firstly, the restrictions local councils impose
on sex shop licenses. At present there are only 250 sex shops nationwide. We are due to meet with the
Local Government Association and the Home Office in November to discuss this in further detail.
Secondly, the restrictions governing the sale of British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) R18 certificated
material. We have entered into dialogue with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport asking them to
review current legislation and to provide effective enforcement against those companies trading in non
classified material in order to stem the tide of grey imports from overseas. In short, we are seeking fairer
trading conditions for adult retailers.
AITA has examined OFCOM's consultation paper and paid particular interest to the section outlining the
possibility of R18 movies being broadcast in UK . The committee is wholeheartedly against hardcore being
broadcast on television, even through encrypted services. The Video Recordings Act (1984) restricts the
sale of R18 movies from licensed sex shops ONLY and the transaction must take place, face to face, in
store to ensure the customer is over the age of 18. If OFCOM were to allow R18 movies to be broadcast
directly into homes with only a PIN code safeguard, we feel that this would not provide adequate
protection for minors. Furthermore, if R18 material were to be transmitted through encrypted services,
broadcasters would have an unfair-advantage both financially and legislatively over licensed sex shops.
I would very much like a chance to meet with you to discuss your consultation paper and AITA's work in
more detail. I am not based at AITA's head office in Manchester. You can contact me through my own
company, Hot Rod Productions Ltd:
Unit 2 Second Floor,
Oslo House East Wing,
62-67 Felstead Street,
London E9 5LG
Tel: 020 8525 9311
Fax:020 8525 7844
Email: anna@hotrodproductions.co. uk
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards
Anna Kieran
Head of Video Committee
Adult Industry Trade Association
Registered Office: 28 Ravenswood Road, Balham, London SW12 9PJ'

[mk13]

The AITA are talking bollocks to protect their monopoly and should be ashamed of themselves. Instead of being affraid of competition AITA should have pulled resorces and lobbied the BBFC to relax the content restrictions in 18 certificate thus giving their members a greater market place.

Mark