18 U.S.C. § 2257 Compliance Statement
Version 2026-05-03
Why this statement exists
18 U.S.C. § 2257 and 28 C.F.R. § 75 establish record-keeping requirements for producers of visual depictions of actual sexually explicit conduct in the United States. The premise of those rules is that any person depicted is a real human, and the record-keeping is intended to demonstrate that they were over 18 at the time of production.
Why § 2257 does not strictly apply to Aura content
All visual depictions on Aura are generated entirely by artificial intelligence. They do not depict actual sexually explicit conduct as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2256(2)(A) because no real person performs in the production of any post. § 2257's record-keeping requirements, on their plain text, do not apply to fully synthetic content.
Why Aura voluntarily maintains analogous records anyway
Notwithstanding the above, Aura voluntarily maintains records consistent with the spirit of § 2257 and the record-keeping standards adult-industry payment processors expect. We maintain, for every post:
- A signed attestation by the uploading creator that the content is fully AI-generated, contains no real person photographed or scanned, does not use the likeness of any identifiable real person without documented written consent, and depicts no character that could reasonably be perceived as under 18.
- A list of AI models, LoRAs, and training-relevant tools the creator declares were used to generate the content.
- The creator's identity verification reference (KYC) tying every post on the account to a verified adult human creator, validated by our designated identity verifier.
- The IP address, user agent string, and timestamp at the moment of upload and at the moment of attestation. These are stored immutably and survive account closure.
- The version of our Terms of Service / AUP / Creator Agreement that the creator had accepted at the time of upload.
- Pre-publication automated scanning results for each asset against known-CSAM hash databases (e.g., Thorn Safer, PhotoDNA), including scan ID, verdict, and timestamp.
Where automated scanning returns a positive verdict for child sexual abuse material, the asset is blocked from publication, the creator's account is suspended, and we file a report with NCMEC and equivalent national hotlines as required by 18 U.S.C. § 2258A.
Custodian of records
Records described above are maintained by Aura's designated custodian. To inquire about a specific record (law-enforcement requests only, with valid legal process), contact:
The full custodian address and the operating entity's registered business address will be listed here once Aura is publicly launched.
Retention period
Records are retained indefinitely following content removal or account closure, for legal defense purposes. Where a shorter period is mandated by an applicable jurisdiction, we comply with that jurisdiction's shortest-valid retention.
Content removal requests
If you believe content on Aura depicts you, your likeness, or anyone you know in violation of these attestations, file a removal request at /takedown. We respond within 24 hours. The removal channel is open to anyone, with no Aura account required.
Subject identification by law enforcement
See Law Enforcement Guidelines for valid legal process. We respond to subpoenas, court orders, and warrants for record production, and we comply with mandatory reporting obligations.
Non-binding nature
Nothing in this statement constitutes an admission that § 2257 applies to Aura content. The voluntary records described above are maintained as a matter of platform integrity and as a matter of contractual commitment to our payment infrastructure (Visa/Mastercard adult-merchant standards continue to apply even where § 2257 does not).