Porn performer Juliette Stray just tweeted about the sudden closure today of AIM (Adult Industry Medical) Healthcare Clinic. According to Raincoat Reviews, the Free Speech Coalition (a porn industry legal org) called an industry and member-only meeting last Friday to discuss Workplace Safety, Performer Testing. As you can see by Sarah Shevon’s tweet, only seven porn performers attended the meeting. Apparently at the fateful meeting, they quietly decided to abruptly close the clinic responsible for standardized STD/STI testing, health certificates and community testing enforcement in the mainstream adult industry. AIM was also used by non-porn people for its top-rate tests and fast results.
AIM has not issued a press release nor made any comment or hint on their website that they have closed. Disturbingly, their site AimCheck.net has been taken offline. This means anyone who had good tests can no longer access the test results or have them accessed – the online proof and verification of having clean tests is gone. AIM’s Get Tested link is also broken.
According to tweets, it’s just sort of expected that people in the industry will “just know” to get their tests from Talent Testing. This outlet has a turnaround of 4-6 2-3 days for results, as opposed to AIM’s results in 24-hours.
I’ll be updating this post when someone queefs out a press release, for corrections/updates, or when we get more information from the people affected by this. Many of you will remember that AIM was the center of the Porn Wikileaks database leak, resulting in the private information of hundreds of porn performers being hatefully published online in an attempt to harm porn workers. The data was mined, stolen and published directly from AIM by a porn industry individual. No word on whether the shutdown is connected to the Porn Wikileaks data theft.
Photo by Richard Kadrey.
UPDATE 5/3: The FSC has commented here to say they are not a legal org but a trade association, and claim that AIM was not the source of the PW data breach: I have responded below with links that verify my statements.
Gawker was first (11am), pointing out Porn Wikileaks and AIM’s lawsuits: Leaky Porn Health Clinic Shut Down.
Two hours ago, in chronological order:
The LA Weekly pretends it doesn’t know me, but links Gawker (while Gawker sources and quotes this post) and Mike South in Porn Clinic AIM Closes For Good: Valley-Based Industry Scrambles to Find New STD Testing System and delivers a misleading headline. The “industry” isn’t scrambling to find a new one; performers have cited Talent Testing as their source from the moment the news broke about AIM. The statement from FSC’s Diana Duke is cavalier:
Performers used to show up on set with a printout of their results. Duke said that’s what will happen until a new clinic is found: Production, she said, won’t shut down, but porn stars will have to show up with printouts of test results, which they can obtain from any certified clinic.
FSC is holding a board meeting tomorrow to decide how to go forward.
“The industry will be fine,” Duke said.
LA Weekly states AIM has filed for bankruptcy, citing that as the reason for the closure.
FSC Blog: FSC Responds to Closure of AIM. It is unclear as to why they responded when according to those who attended their meeting, it was decided at their meeting to close AIM. I have a statement via email from an attendee that describes the meeting. Their statement makes it sound like they had no idea. “It is our understanding that AIM is now closed.” It doesn’t answer any other questions.
XBIZ (AVN also picked it up at the same time): AIM Clinic Closes; FSC Responds. “AIM’s’ AimCheck.net database website has been inaccessible to producers and talent since Monday.”
Am I the only one upset about the sudden loss of a sexual healthcare safety net for performers? Or upset that AIM just seemingly dumped all its clients? I’ve been a longtime champion of AIM and have cited them as a standard of community care for years. I hope they come forward with something that clears things up.
After the jump, read the statement about the Friday meeting from performer and attendee Sarah Shevon. She discusses a possible new performer healthcare database being created but is a month away, mentions that Talent Testing only offers testing and not other healthcare services (AIM formerly did), and talks about the possibility of performers forming an association – much like a union – to speak about and protect their rights.
#
The industry meeting we had last Friday was with the Free Speech Coalition, I recommend checking their sites for updates or to see how to get involved. The meeting was mainly held due to the very grim fate of AIM, and the fact AIM is on its way out completely.
AIM has been getting hit hard this year with Cal-Osha and The Aids Healthcare Foundation trying to take-over, mainly after “Patient Zeta” tested HIV-positive but there has been other instances. The Aids Healthcare Foundation and Cal/OSHA are not into the best interests of the performers, if they take-over they will make us all use condoms and weaken our testing procedures, we will be forced out of the country and/or underground.
So at this point, it is best to go to Talent Testing for now. There is a performer database in the works and negotiations for nation-wide testing facilities that offer treatment, similar to AIM. Talent Testing does not offer any treatment at this time.
The performer database being created will simply state whether performers are available or not, they could as well be unavailable for any reason outside getting an STI, and only the performers would have access their test results, it is estimated to be up in about a month.
We also discussed forming a performers association so that we can have more of a voice in these kinds of matters and have some benefits, kind of like a Union, and we would also do safety trainings to help appease Cal/OSHA. Of course people will need to get involved, there will have to be more meetings, and it will ultimately have to be enforced.
I will try to keep you updated on the new developments. [Sarah Shevon]
“I was hoping that you could comment on the closure of AIM, as that’s what this post is about. Why did AIM abandon its clients, and close access to their test results – with no notice? I’m hoping AIM will make a clarifying statement, as this appears gravely irresponsible from a healthcare perspective.”
It seems to me that that’s kind of blaming the victim in this case. AIM was essentially run into the ground by frivolous but expensive lawsuits, including misplaced “medical privacy” attacks on their keeping a database to begin with. They’re even being blamed for having been hacked.
The fact that keeping this database is one of the things they’re under attack for makes it unsurprising they pulled the plug on it along with everything else. Place the blame here thoroughly on Michael Weinstein and everybody else who has been pushing this underhanded campaign against AIM. We now see the outcome in the form of a greatly reduced standard of performer healthcare at the core of the industry.
As the creator (under duress*) of AIM in May 1998…I am torn by the tragically predictable demise of what was designed to be the incredibly valuable Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Service. In fact, it’s original motto was “Our AIM is to keep you healthy.” I truly hope that the talent can now bond among themselves, and that they can work with their agents to create (if need be…since Talent Testing Service already exists) a reliable and reasonably priced health service. However…the talent and the agents should not start forking out membership dues to the Free Speech Coalition. The health of the talent is not, and never has been, within the FSC’s First Amendment protecting, adult entertainment industry trade organization, purview.
As always…take care and care take.
*certain corrupt and power mad forces had banding together to try and remove me from PAW (Protecting Adult Welfare/www.pawfoundation.org) which I had created in 1994.
Hi Theresa,
Thank you for commenting and clarifying. There are many unanswered questions, and I’m hoping that since you’ve identified yourself as a Board member you’ll be open to further clarification.
I described the FSC as a “porn industry legal org” as a summary of the organization’s own description in the top right sidebar. It reads, “The trade association & legal advocacy group for the adult entertainment industry.” Is it incorrect?
I’m glad you stated that the FSC does not know that the PW data was mined from AIM. The conflict with that statement is that AIM has published this statement, saying the data breach was from their computers – not in whole, but in part:
http://aim-med.org/news/2011/03/31/1301586672/
AIM self-disclosed the breach to their data. So, we do know PW was mined from AIM.
That is the fact we have to go on. But neither AIM nor any other reputable source has come forward with a verifiable statement – in fact – that the PW information has come from any other source. I believe you, and I have posted the word of porn performers that the data has to have come from somewhere *in addition to* AIM. Where can this be sourced – is there a link, a statement, anything that mainstream media would consider a verifiable source for the information?
Any clarification is greatly appreciated.
I was hoping that you could comment on the closure of AIM, as that’s what this post is about. Why did AIM abandon its clients, and close access to their test results – with no notice? I’m hoping AIM will make a clarifying statement, as this appears gravely irresponsible from a healthcare perspective.
Thanks for covering this… but please remember that the Free Speech Coalition is not a “porn industry legal org.”
The Free Speech Coalition is the trade association for the adult entertainment industry. That includes retail outlets that sell videos and toys, as well as internet and DVD production companies and staff. Even sex writers and journalists can be members and involved.
Also, we do *not* know that the info on PornWikiLeaks was mined from AIM. In fact, it looks like much/most of it came from 2257 documentation, which would not be something in AIM’s possession.
— Theresa “Darklady” Reed
Free Speech Coalition board member
twitter/thedarklady
This is so upsetting! I work at a sex store in LA. I’ll let my coworkers know to redirect people to Talent Testing. I look forward to getting answers about this lost community resource.
Porn Photog – thanks for this. I got the 4-6 day turnaround number from Juliette’s tweet:
http://twitter.com/#!/JulietteStray/status/65241133260877824
But I know she’s been primarily AIM, and it sounds like you’ve been using TTS reliably. 2 days is way better than 4-6.
I’ve been using TTS for a while now and they have a 2 day turn-around (not 4-6) as they ship their samples to FL for actual testing. They are a tad bit cheaper than AIM was ($110 vs $125) and their website works MUCH better for getting test results and such
Anonymous – that’s helpful of you.
It’s unfortunate that such a great site uses the terminology “clean” when referring to negative STI results. Those that are positive are not “dirty.” Established terminology is negative/positive.