Treasure Island Media Wins Victory Over California Health Agency In Condom Case

Treasure Island Media, which along with Kink.com has been under fire the last few years from the California worker health and safety agency (Cal/OSHA) and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, won a decisive victory in a California administrative court this week.

A three-person panel ruled that Treasure Island Media’s failure to use condoms on a 2009 shoot was not a “serious violation” of Cal/OSHA regulations, and the agency levied a mere $685 fine — a reduction of 96% from the original fine of $18,000. The shoot in question was not the controversial The 1000 Load Fuck, which faced previous fines and allegations.

As the company says in a release, “The ruling is precedent setting” and “a game-changer for the adult industry” which has spent years battling the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and their baseless claims about the safety of adult sets.

“For the past six years, AIDS Healthcare Foundation has wasted Cal/OSHA’s time, resources and patience for the regulatory equivalent of a missing Band-Aid. This is a huge win for Treasure Island and the adult industry,” says Attorney Karen Tynan. “Hopefully, this is also a win for Cal/OSHA, since AHF no longer has much credibility in bringing these cases. They’ve been wasting millions of taxpayer dollars a year that could be going to actual prevention.”

From TIM’s release:

Over the past decade, AIDS Healthcare Foundation has filed numerous complaints against adult companies for failure to use condoms in adult film, often without any interest from the performers involved in the shoot. Treasure Island’s film, which involved not only condomless sex, but a turkey baster and a two gallon jar of semen, was an extreme test case for the Cal/OSHA regs. Still, the panel ruled the lack of condoms was only a minor infraction.

“We’re very pleased with the Cal/OSHA ruling,” said Matt Mason, General Manager of Treasure Island Media. “At the end of the day, the agency was just doing their job in responding to a complaint. I suspect they’re as annoyed with AIDS Healthcare Foundation as we are.”

Also notable, and par for the course with Treasure Island founder Paul Morris, he says he’s “proud” he defied AHF by “funding the defense with revenue from The 1000 Load Fuck.”