Feature Articles
How to Turn Card Brand Compliance Into Effective Marketing
opinion
How to Turn Card Brand Compliance Into Effective Marketing
In the adult sector, compliance is often treated as a gauntlet of mandatory checkboxes. While it’s true that those boxes need to be ticked and regulations must be followed, sites that view compliance strictly as a chore risk missing out on a bigger opportunity.
A Look at the Latest AI Tools for Online Safety
opinion
A Look at the Latest AI Tools for Online Safety
One of the defining challenges for adult businesses is helping to combat the proliferation of illegal or nonconsensual content, as well as preventing minors from accessing inappropriate or harmful material — all the more so because companies or sites unable or unwilling to do so may expose themselves to significant penalties and put their users at risk.
Know When to Drop Domains You Don't Need
opinion
Know When to Drop Domains You Don't Need
Do you own too many domains? If so, you’re not alone. Like other things we accumulate, every registered domain means something to us. Sometimes a domain represents a dream project we have always wanted to do but have never quite gotten around to.
Understanding 'Indemnification' in Business Contracts
opinion
Understanding 'Indemnification' in Business Contracts
Clients frequently tell me that they didn’t understand — or sometimes, even read — certain portions of a contract because those sections appeared to be just “standard legalese.” They are referring, of course, to the specialized language used in legal documents, including contracts.
5 Steps to Make Card Brand Compliance Easy
opinion
5 Steps to Make Card Brand Compliance Easy
It’s February, the month of love. Just once, wouldn’t it be great to receive a little candy heart asking you to “Be Mine” instead of more forms to fill out and documents to submit? Of course, regulatory compliance does have one important thing in common with romance: Fail to put in the work, and your relationship is likely over — your relationship with the card brands, that is.
Protecting Your Business With a Data Backup Strategy That Works
opinion
Protecting Your Business With a Data Backup Strategy That Works
If the subject of backups sounds boring to you, maybe this will grab your attention: Without properly implemented backups, your business is vulnerable to partial or even catastrophic data loss, which could screw your company and tank your income.
Complying With New Age Assurance and Content Moderation Standards
opinion
Complying With New Age Assurance and Content Moderation Standards
For adult companies operating in today’s increasingly regulated digital landscape, maintaining compliance with card brand requirements is essential — not only to safeguard your operations but also to ensure a safe and transparent environment for users.
Understanding the FTC's New 'Click to Cancel' Rule
opinion
Understanding the FTC's New 'Click to Cancel' Rule
The Federal Trade Commission’s new “Click to Cancel” rule has been a hot topic in consumer protection and business regulation. Part of a broader effort to streamline cancellation processes for subscription services, the rule has sparked significant debate and legal challenges.
Key Factors for Choosing a Merchant Services Partner
opinion
Key Factors for Choosing a Merchant Services Partner
Running a successful adult business requires more than just delivering alluring and cutting-edge products and services. Securing the right payment processing partner is essential to maintaining a steady revenue stream.
Identifying and Preventing Transaction Laundering
opinion
Identifying and Preventing Transaction Laundering
Recently, a few merchants approached me after receiving compliance notifications from their acquirer about transaction laundering. They were unsure what it meant, and unsure how to identify and fix the problem.
Navigating Age-Related Regulations in Europe
opinion
Navigating Age-Related Regulations in Europe
Age verification measures are rapidly gaining momentum across Europe, with regulators stepping up efforts to protect children online. Recently, the U.K.’s communications regulator, Ofcom, updated its timeline for implementing the Online Safety Act, while France’s ARCOM has released technical guidance detailing age verification standards.
Why Cyber Insurance Is Crucial for Adult Businesses
opinion
Why Cyber Insurance Is Crucial for Adult Businesses
From streaming services and interactive platforms to ecommerce and virtual reality experiences, the adult industry has long stood at the forefront of online innovation. However, the same technology-forward approach that has enabled adult businesses to deliver unique and personalized content to consumers worldwide also exposes them to myriad risks.
Best Practices for Payment Gateway Security
opinion
Best Practices for Payment Gateway Security
Securing digital payment transactions is critical for all businesses, but especially those in high-risk industries. Payment gateways are a core component of the digital payment ecosystem, and therefore must follow best practices to keep customer data safe.
Ready for New Visa Acquirer Changes?
opinion
Ready for New Visa Acquirer Changes?
Next spring, Visa will roll out the U.S. version of its new Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program (VAMP), which goes into effect April 1, 2025. This follows Visa Europe, which rolled out VAMP back in June. VAMP charts a new path for acquirers to manage fraud and chargeback ratios.
How to Halt Hackers as Fraud Attacks Rise
opinion
How to Halt Hackers as Fraud Attacks Rise
For hackers, it’s often a game of trial and error. Bad actors will perform enumeration and account testing, repeating the same test on a system to look for vulnerabilities — and if you are not equipped with the proper tools, your merchant account could be the next target.
How Adult Website Operators Can Cash in on the 'Interchange' Class Action
opinion
How Adult Website Operators Can Cash in on the 'Interchange' Class Action
The Payment Card Interchange Fee Settlement resulted from a landmark antitrust lawsuit involving Visa, Mastercard and several major banks. The case centered around the interchange fees charged to merchants for processing credit and debit card transactions. These fees are set by card networks and are paid by merchants to the banks that issue the cards.
It's Time to Rock the Vote and Make Your Voice Heard
opinion
It's Time to Rock the Vote and Make Your Voice Heard
When I worked to defeat California’s Proposition 60 in 2016, our opposition campaign was outspent nearly 10 to 1. Nevertheless, our community came together and garnered enough support and awareness to defeat that harmful, misguided piece of proposed legislation — by more than a million votes.
Staying Compliant to Avoid the Takedown Shakedown
opinion
Staying Compliant to Avoid the Takedown Shakedown
Dealing with complaints is an everyday part of doing business — and a crucial one, since not dealing with them properly can haunt your business in multiple ways. Card brand regulations require every merchant doing business online to have in place a complaint process for reporting content that may be illegal or that violates the card brand rules.
Creating Payment Redundancies to Maximize Payout Uptime
opinion
Creating Payment Redundancies to Maximize Payout Uptime
During the global CrowdStrike outage that took place toward the end of July, a flawed software update brought air travel and electronic commerce to a grinding halt worldwide. This dramatically underscores the importance of having a backup plan in place for critical infrastructure.
The Need for Minimal Friction in Age Verification Technology
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opinion
The Need for Minimal Friction in Age Verification Technology
In the adult sector, robust age assurance, comprised of age verification and age estimation methods, is critical to ensuring legal compliance with ever-evolving regulations, safeguarding minors from inappropriate content and protecting the privacy of adults wishing to view adult content.
