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Why is age-verification suddenly everywhere?
You may have noticed that some of your favorite sites and apps on the internet are adding new age-verification requirements to comply with new laws.
Because we are a website on the internet, JustPolyThings.com had to do some extensive research recently into how all of these new age-verification regulations affect us.
Figuring out how to stay compliant is no small challenge, and is an ongoing effort as the legal landscape continues to change.
Where we stand
We are proud members of the SWPA and support the FSC. (Learn more about the FCS arguments at the US Supreme Court this year). We care about your online privacy.
Fortunately these organizations help keep us informed of the new regulations that impact “adult” stores and websites like ours.
Adult Oriented
JustPolyThings.com is not a site for children. We aren’t marketing our content to children, but at what age in adolescence does open-relationships become an age appropriate topic?
One of the challenges for a site like ours, and others focused on topics like queer identities is that some but not all of our content can be potentially considered "inappropriate for minors”. Our goal eventually is to gate content that needs to be gated, and keep other parts of the site unrestricted, but for now, in order to comply we’ve had to completely block our site in certain regions like the UK.
Who are we protecting?
No reasonable person wants children to have access to pornography, but where does the burden of protecting them belong?
It seems obvious to us that navigating what content any given child should have access to and when (at what age) is firmly the responsibility of their parent or guardian. Parents are going to disagree about what is appropriate and when, so each parent should be free to make that choice for their children and family.
Age-restriction laws on the internet don’t work to protect children, but they are a great tool for fascist governments to surveil and censor the media.
These laws WILL RESULT in silencing queer voices, reducing access to sexual education, and making sex work and sex workers less safe.
All while the under-age users who want to see stuff they aren’t supposed to will just circumvent the restrictions, like they are already doing in the UK, ‘Death Stranding’ Is Helping UK Users Bypass Age Verification Laws.
Sharing the love ❣️
We want to share our research and what we learned. In the interest of full disclosure, we used Gemini’s Deep Research tool to create a report and infographics that were used in the compilation of this post.
While all content on our site is human edited, and reviewed, we do try to use AI responsibly where it makes sense to, and it was super helpful in understanding a topic this complex.
We are not lawyers, and nothing here on our site should ever be considered legal advice. This information is also changing frequently, but was up to date as of the time of publishing.
Age Verification Compliance for Polyamory Websites
Navigating Global Legal Landscapes
The legal landscape for age verification is highly fragmented, rapidly evolving, and jurisdiction-specific, necessitating a multi-jurisdictional compliance strategy.
- The UK Digital Economy Act 2017 (DEA) presents an immediate and urgent priority, set to go into effect on July 25, 2024. Non-compliance carries significant penalties, including fines and website blocking.
- In the United States, a growing number of state-level age verification laws targeting "material harmful to minors" are emerging, but these laws are currently facing significant First Amendment legal challenges, creating an unstable and uncertain regulatory environment.
- European Union regulations, notably the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Digital Services Act (DSA), impose broader obligations related to child protection and data privacy, which can indirectly or directly trigger age verification requirements for online platforms.
- Australia's Online Safety Act provides a comprehensive framework that includes age verification requirements for "adult content".
What Makes Content or Products "Age-Restricted"?
The classification of a polyamory website's content (e.g., educational, community support, relationship advice) and products (e.g., books, merchandise, sexual health products) is the paramount factor in determining which age verification laws apply.
"Pornographic Content": This category is typically defined narrowly, focusing on explicit visual depictions. The UK Digital Economy Act 2017 (DEA) specifically targets "pornographic content" provided for "commercial purposes". OFCOM's Code of Practice under the DEA defines "pornographic content" as material depicting "explicit sexual activity," "sexual violence," or "nudity in a sexual context". This precise definition is crucial for immediate UK compliance.
"Material Harmful to Minors": This is a broader and often more subjective category, encompassing content that, while not necessarily pornographic, could be detrimental to the psychological or moral development of children. Many US state laws, such as those in Utah, Montana, Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas, refer to "material harmful to minors" as a trigger for age verification. Similarly, the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) refers to "harmful content" and "specific risks for children". Australia's Online Safety Act also addresses "illegal and harmful content". The subjectivity of this definition means that content that is merely mature or discusses sensitive topics could be captured.
"Adult Content" (General): This is a more general classification for content intended for mature audiences, which may not be pornographic but deals with adult themes (e.g., relationships, sexuality, violence, drug use) without explicit depictions. The OFCOM Code under the UK DEA also refers to "adult content" more broadly, and Australia's Online Safety Act explicitly mentions "adult content" requiring age verification. This category is particularly relevant for a polyamory website, as its content, even if educational, is inherently aimed at adults.
"Restricted Products": Certain physical or digital products are subject to age restrictions regardless of the content they are associated with. If a website sells products, including potentially "sexual health products", these types of products
The United States: Federal and State-Level Considerations
Federal
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA): a federal law that applies to online services and websites "directed at children under 13" or that knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. It requires parental consent for the collection of personal information from minors.
- If a polyamory website is clearly not directed at children and does not knowingly collect personal data from users under 13, COPPA's direct age verification requirements for content access may not apply.
State-Specific Age Verification Laws:
A significant and growing number of US states have enacted laws requiring age verification for websites that display "material harmful to minors."
Examples include Utah (HB 215), Montana (SB 544), Louisiana (Act 440), Texas (HB 1181), and Arkansas (Act 689). These laws often mandate specific methods like "digital identification" or "third-party solutions".
For a complete breakdown, visit the Free Speech Coalition’s Age Verification Bill Tracker.
These state laws are highly contentious and have faced significant and successful First Amendment legal challenges. Many have been temporarily blocked by court injunctions, meaning their enforceability is currently uncertain or suspended. This creates a highly volatile and unpredictable legal environment for online businesses.
The definition of "material harmful to minors" in these state laws can be broad and subjective, often encompassing content that is merely mature or discusses sensitive topics, not just explicit pornography.
Penalties for non-compliance vary by state but can include substantial civil penalties and legal action.
Common Age Verification Methods
Age Gates (Self-Certification): This involves a simple pop-up or interstitial page where users declare they are over a certain age (e.g., "Are you 18 or older?"). While extremely low friction and easy and inexpensive to implement, this method is easily circumvented by minors and offers minimal legal protection, generally not considered "robust" for high-risk content.
Credit Card Verification: This method uses a user's credit or debit card details to verify age, often without making a charge. It provides a higher level of assurance than age gates and is widely available. However, it raises privacy concerns, not all users have credit cards, and it can be perceived as a barrier to access.
ID Document Verification: This requires users to upload a government-issued identification document (e.g., driver's license, passport) for verification. It offers a very high level of assurance and is legally robust. The drawbacks include high friction for users, significant privacy concerns due to the collection of sensitive personal data, potential for data breaches, and higher implementation and operational costs.
Third-Party Age Verification Solutions: This involves integration with specialized third-party providers (e.g., AgeChecked, Yoti) that use various methods (e.g., database checks, facial recognition, ID verification) to confirm age. These solutions offload the technical and compliance burden from site operators, and can offer multiple verification methods for robustness. They are supposed to be privacy-preserving by design, but the main considerations are third-party costs and a site operator's trust in the external service providers.
Biometric Verification: This uses technologies like facial recognition to estimate age or verify identity. While potentially highly accurate and frictionless once set up, it carries significant privacy concerns, ethical implications, is still emerging, involves high costs, and has varying legal acceptance. As we’ve seen since the UK rollout, it can also be easily circumvented.
Best Practices for Data Privacy and Security
Implementing age verification is not merely about meeting content regulations; it inherently creates significant data privacy obligations.
A poorly designed or insecure age verification system can lead to substantial data breach exposure risks. Creating a situation where one problem introduces another.
Our approach
Here are some of the steps we are taking as a site operator to protect our users as well as stay compliant with censorship laws. (Especially as we build out our marketplace features.)
Content Disclaimers: Prominently display clear disclaimers on the website indicating that content is intended for mature audiences.
Comprehensive Privacy Policy: We will always tell you about what data we are collecting, and we update our Privacy Policy regularly as we add new features to the site. This isn’t new for us.
Adopt a Layered Approach to Age Verification: Given the varying legal requirements and the trade-offs between user experience and compliance, we've considered a combination of methods. We have already implemented age gates, and geo-location blocking. In the future, we hope to refine the location blocking to make some portions of our site available to users in the UK.
Privacy by Design: Due to our strong privacy concerns we are not going to implement any age verification system that potentially compromises our user’s privacy. We will simply restrict access instead of making you upload your government ID.
Ongoing Legal Review and Monitoring: The digital law landscape is dynamic and constantly evolving. Our process is already to regularly review and adapt to new laws and court rulings.
Tell us what you think of our approach in the comments below!
