Adult film production in the Los Angeles area has halted under a voluntary moratorium after a performer tested positive for HIV, marking the third such shutdown since 2013.

Diane Duke, chief executive of the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult film industry, announced the moratorium on Thursday.

“There was a positive test at one of our testing centers. Confirmatory tests are not yet back, but we are taking every precaution to protect performers and to determine if there’s been any threat to the performer pool,” she said. “We take the health of our performers very seriously and felt that it was better to err on the side of caution.”

Last summer, the Free Speech Coalition called a weeklong filming stoppage after an actress who goes by the screen name Cameron Bay tested positive for HIV. Her boyfriend, adult film actor Rod Daily, later announced that he had also tested positive.


A second moratorium was put in place after a third performer tested positive. Filming resumed in September, with new protocols that required performers to be tested every 14 days rather than every 28.

A previous HIV scare that shut down adult film production in 2011 turned out to be a false alarm. After another weeklong filming moratorium, the performer involved was retested, with a negative result.

The industry group has vigorously opposed a Los Angeles County law passed in 2012 that mandates condom use by porn actors.

The industry last year increased the frequency of required STD testing for performers from once a month to every 14 days. That has not silenced critics, who say the only reliable way to prevent transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases on set is by mandating condom use.