Prior to the establishment of a private right to own pornographic material in Stanley v. Georgia in 1969, adult film producers and sex toy manufacturers had limited ability to organize.

[3] Following the recommendations of the Meese Commission, the Bush administration began attacking both small distributors and major manufacturers of adult video with sting operations.

While pornography production was no longer illegal in California, producers could still be charged with the federal crime of interstate sale of obscene material and tried in more conservative states.

[6][7] In response to the attacks, adult producers formed the Free Speech Legal Defense Fund (FSLDF) to pool resources.

[7] In 1991, as the government attack was blunted, the FSLDF decided to select a name more reflective of its broadened role in the adult community, and the Free Speech Coalition was born.

On the FSC's website it states that it has "fought for the rights of producers, distributors, performers and consumers of adult entertainment and pleasure products through battles in the legislature, the courts, regulatory agencies, at the ballot box and in the press".

[9] In 1999, FSC hired its first full-time Executive Director, William R. "Bill" Lyon,[10] and began to gain a national reputation as a defender of First and Fourth Amendment rights.

This redefinition of child pornography to include adults appearing to be minors and engaging in actual or simulated sexual activity was controversial.

For the first time since its own redefinition as a trade association, FSC undertook litigation challenging the constitutionality of a Federal statute, filing suit against then-Attorney General John Ashcroft and charging that the CPPA abridged first amendment rights by defining protected speech as obscene or as child pornography.

In February 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held in Connection Distributing Co. v. Holder that the record-keeping provisions of 18 U.S.C.

The arrangement made financial services available to approved production studios employees and their families, primarily in the adult film industry.

[23] They were launched in mid-1988 by the Adult Video Association at its annual Night of the Stars fundraising event, replacing its discontinued Erotic Film Awards.

Starting in 2008 an "Election Bash" in the fall replaced the former Night of the Stars awards ceremony, reflecting the FSC's change in focus from the entertainers to the business side of the industry.

The Positive Image Award is presented to "performers that have helped to dispel negative stereotypes and misconceptions connected to work in the adult industry.

[26] This award is given to "a member of the adult entertainment or pleasure products community who has shown exemplary courage and leadership fighting for the rights and image of the industry.