Seth Warshavsky Explained

Seth Warshavsky (born 1973) is an American pornographer and the founder of Internet Entertainment Group (IEG). During the dot-com bubble, Warshavsky's welcome of media attention made him the face of the online pornography industry to a public fascinated with what was then virtually the only segment of the dot-com industry operating at a profit.[1] On February 10, 1998, he testified at a hearing on Internet Indecency before the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.[2]

Beginning in 1996, with the profits from a phone-sex operation he started while living in the Oregon building in Seattle, Washington, he had friends at AT&T who would find him sex-related numbers.[3]

Warshavsky converted a warehouse in Seattle into the studios of IEG's flagship website, Clublove.com. The website used computer technology that was cutting edge for its day. The business model was similar to that of a live peep show. For a monthly membership fee plus an hourly charge, customers could watch postcard-sized, low-resolution images of women strip and touch themselves in real time. For more money, they could talk to the camgirls over the phone and direct them.[4]

Warshavsky was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal in 1997.[5]

In 1999, Warshavsky was rated number 40 on Time Magazine's list of 50 "most important figures in technology."[6]

Early Internet pornography scandals

Warshavsky was involved in many of the early Internet's porn-related media controversies, including:

IEG collapse

At IEG's peak, Warshavsky claimed to have 100,000 subscribers and $100 million annual revenue, although subsequent events cast doubt on the veracity of this earnings claim.

Anderson and Lee filed a $90 million copyright-infringement suit against IEG in 1998 to claim a share of the profits of the video of them. A U.S. district court judge dismissed the case, ruling that the duo gave up their rights when they agreed to let IEG webcast the footage. Following appeals, Anderson and Lee were awarded a $1.5 million judgment plus court costs and attorney fees in December 2002.[7]

Notes and References

  1. News: Gimein . Mark . Sex sells, doesn't it? . . December 1, 1999. April 24, 2013.
  2. Web site: COMMERCIAL DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIAL HARMFUL TO MINORS ON WORLD WIDE WEB . June 25, 1998.
  3. Web site: Jared Jacang Maher. Peter Knobel, Phone Home. Westword. 2006-05-04. 2013-04-24.
  4. Wired article. Wired. Frank. Rose.
  5. News: As Other Internet Ventures Fail, Sex Sites Are Raking in Millions . . January 27, 1997 . October 29, 2016.
  6. Web site: Bezos Grabs Time Top Spot From Gates. September 23, 1999. October 29, 2016.
  7. News: Pam and Tommy:... - Pam and Tommy: accidental porn stars . https://archive.today/20130127133903/http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-pamandersontommylee_e7kq9mgy,0,173022.photo . dead . 2013-01-27 . . 2013-04-24.
  8. Web site: Hoax . https://web.archive.org/web/20041118095554/http://onyx.he.net/~hotmoves/LIC/hoax.html . 2004-11-18 . 2004-11-18 . 2013-04-24.
  9. Web site: Goldberg . Michelle . Blondie: Behind the music - Salon.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20011031203741/https://www.salon.com/21st/feature/1998/11/03feature.html . 2001-10-31 . Archive.salon.com . 1999-03-03.
  10. Web site: Archdiocese of St. Louis, et al. v. Internet Entertainment Group, Inc. - Internet Library of Law and Court Decisions . Internetlibrary.com . 1999-02-12 . 2013-04-24.
  11. Web site: Hillsborough: Voyeur site tests cyberlaw . Sptimes.com . 1999-04-26 . 2013-04-24.

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