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Photo: Zero Creatives

In 2012, Los Angeles County began requiring porn performers use condoms. But it turns out that might have only been the beginning of a porn crackdown. Now California’s division of OSHA has proposed a new serious of regulations for the porn industry that are... Odd. They’d definitely change your porn-viewing experience unless you’re really into sexy chemists. Here’s more via Washington Post:

New rules proposed last week by the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHA) would require adult film actors to wear eye gear for many scenes. The rules, which have yet to be finalized, would also impose strict hygiene standards and outlaw common porn practices.

If these rules go into effect, it means you’ll see your favorite porn star trying to hold goggles on his or her eyes while doing some energetic movements. It also means the potential end of certain acts that involve bodily fluids that often occur at the end of videos. For their part, porn actors and producers claim this is beyond overkill and that the testing process in place is secure enough to protect the health of performers. Here’s what a spokesperson for Kink.com told SF Weekly about the proposals:

"We’re absolutely opposed to the new regulations proposed by Cal/OSHA. They’re based in stigma and threaten to make working conditions less safe for adult performers. Because everything we do at Kink is based in consent, we can’t support regulations that remove performers’ control over their bodies or forces performers to disclose medical information, for instance. It’s important to note that these are regulations to which performers have been vocal in their opposition, including APAC, the main performer group....

That said, we’re not opposed to regulation itself. But they have to be workable by adult performers. They can not be hospital ward regulations grafted onto an adult film set. When we saw the proposed regulations, we came together with performers and performer groups, STI experts, civil rights organizations, and health advocacy groups like the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Gay Men’s Health Crisis to revise the proposed regulations in a way that increases performer safety, but also preserves their autonomy. Those revisions were presented at the Cal/OSHA board hearing last week, and we hope to be engaged in active conversation with them over the next few months."

Debate over these proposed rules will play out over the coming months, but be prepared for a slightly more sterile porn experience. Or, you know, watch one of the infinite number of porn videos that were shot before these regulations. Either way.