Diane Duke

Country:	USA
LinkedIn:	Diane Duke

Diane Duke is Executive Director of the Free Speech Coalition, the trade association for the adult entertainment industry. She is the only registered national lobbyist for the industry.

On August 30, 2011, Ms. Duke announced that the registered porn industry would be voluntarily shutting down following the news that a performer had contracted HIV. The shutdown is set to last until more tests can be done on his or her partners. Diane Duke was influential in creating the health service system for the industry that likely caught the HIV infection.

She was recognized as the 2011 Woman of the Year by Xbiz, a prominent news source and forum for the adult film industry, in January 2012.

ICANN

Her role has brought her into domaining circles due to her advocacy of intellectual property and brand protection for the adult industry. She has been active in opposing ICM's .xxx domain space as it threatens the rights of established brands in the .com space. The industry's opposition to .xxx failed to prevent it from eventually being created, so now Ms. Duke is sending petitions and issuing warnings to ICM; their continued concern is the protection of their IP rights in the new namespace.

She has attended ICANN meetings to oppose the .xxx extension. While in Cartagena she made a point of talking with GAC representatives and ICANN Board members, and passing out informational sheets explaining the industry's opposition to .xxx. Via a blog post, she noted that while in Cartagena for ICANN 39 she had spoken with board members that opposed the .xxx sTLD, since it didn't have the support of the community it supposedly represents, but also felt that the extension would have to be inevitably accepted due to a flawed process. She was also a part of the protest held to coincide with ICANN 40.

Advocacy and Lobbying

Ms. Duke advocates a number of legislative concerns and brings awareness to a number of issues in the adult film industry. She has recently been involved in fighting against legislation that would require condom use for all adult performers in the state of California; she has brought attention to the negative effects of the economic downturn and taxes on the industry; and she has supported the placement of free speech advocates in federal positions.

Career History

She spoke at UCLA's Condoms in Adult Films Panel.

Prior to joining the FSC, she was the Senior VP of the Planned Parenthood Health Services of Southwestern Oregon. She has worked in the nonprofit sector for more than 22 years.

Education

Ms. Duke holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Oregon.