Privacy Law Library

Publishing or distributing material harmful to minors on the Internet (adult website age verification)

VA age verification

Children

Requires commercial adult websites to verify that users are 18 or older through a commercial age and identity verification database or another commercially reasonable method, and makes them liable for damages when a minor gains access.

Where

Virginia

Citation

Va. Code § 8.01-40.5

Status

In force

In force since

2023-07-01

Enforced by

Private civil action

People can sue

Yes

Penalties

Civil liability for damages resulting from a minor's access, plus reasonable attorney fees and costs (8.01-40.5(C)).

Applies to

• Commercial entities that knowingly publish or distribute material harmful to minors from a website where more than one third of the material is harmful to minors (8.01-40.5(A)-(B))
• Not interactive computer service providers or users (8.01-40.5(D))