The American government is very strict about its regulations regarding pornography, and the owners of sex sites are now the target. According to new expanded federal record-keeping standards, the Internet sites will be included in the list of adult media, together with magazines and videos, already subject to record-keeping laws under the Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1988.

Nevertheless, the Free Speech Coalition, an adult-entertainment trade group, and the U.S. Department of Justice reached an agreement Thursday afternoon that the government will not begin enforcing the regulations, which had been scheduled to take effect June 23, until Sept. 7.

The expanded rules state that both producers and "secondary producers" of adult content to keep and provide extensive documentation about their performers, including legal name, date of birth and copies of documents bearing a photo ID. However, according to the Federal Register notice, the following cannot be classified as secondary producers: film or video processors, Web hosts and ISPs, or those who engage in "mere distribution".

The Justice Department's new interpretation rises a lot if questions. Adult performers fear their real names, addresses and ages will end up in the hands of countless webmasters who must now keep these records. "We deal with stalkers now," said Bill Rust, webmaster of Arikaames.com, a soft-core site featuring his wife.

"While we remain optimistic regarding our ultimate success in the litigation, the FSC encourages everyone to try to comply with the law to the extent that it is possible," Michelle Freridge, the coalition's executive director, said in a press release.