Legal Status of Internet Pornography - Areas of Legal Concern Within Many Countries

Areas of Legal Concern Within Many Countries

Some areas of legal concern regarding adult pornography are:

• Prohibiting certain or all types of pornography that are illegal within a government’s jurisdiction. For countries that do not prohibit all pornography, this might include pornography featuring violence or bestiality, for example.
• Preventing those under the legal age (for most this means a minor under 18 or 21) from accessing pornographic content.
• Enforcing laws designed to ensure that performers in pornography are of legal age.

In jurisdictions that heavily restrict access or outright ban pornography, various attempts have been made to prevent access to pornographic content. The mandating of Internet filters to try preventing access to porn sites has been used in some nations such as China and Saudi Arabia. Banning porn sites within a nation's jurisdiction does not necessarily prevent access to that site, as it may simply relocate to a hosting server within another country that does not prohibit the content it offers.

Many nations that allow at least some types of pornography attempt to ensure that those under their legal age for accessing porn (often 18 or 21) cannot easily access it. Various measures have been tried but with varying success. Within the United States, most websites have taken voluntary steps to ensure that visitors to their sites are not underage. Many Web sites provide a warning upon entry, warning minors and those not interested in viewing porn not to view the site, and requiring one to affirm that one is at least 18 and wishing to view pornographic content. Such warning pages have little effect in preventing access by minors to porn, as any minor interested in viewing the site can simply click on the “I am an adult over 18” button without having to prove his or her age. Thus, such warnings are generally not used by themselves but with other techniques. Commercial porn sites generally do not restrict access to any pornographic content until a membership has been purchased using a credit card, as most have explicit 'free trial' content as a major part of their sales strategy. So-called age verification services have also sprung up that offer access to any Web site that participates in their program without additional charge. The users need only verify their age with the verification service, which then issues a username and password that can access all sites that use its services. Most age verification sites charge either a monthly or yearly fee to those wanting access to participating sites.

Within nations that allow at least some types of pornography, models are often required to be at least a specific age (18 is most common). Various nations have various rules as to how a site must ensure that all porn models featured on it are of age such as strict record-keeping laws.