With people of various ages being able to join Eons, are we legally liable for underage children viewing content intended for adults?

While we can’t give you legal advice, we can pass on to you our understanding of some laws that apply to online postings.

For those of us in the U.S., the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution – the “free speech” amendment – protects our right to communicate legal adult content to the public (including through public websites like eons.com). There are some types of content that are not legal, and not protected by the First Amendment. These include child pornography and obscene material. While there is no clear definition of obscene, consider what “community standards” would deem as obscene. Also consider that the determination as to what is obscene or not does not depend on whether or not children are around to view, read or hear it. Posting pornographic or sexually explicit content is prohibited on Eons but simply discussing sexual matters is not a violation of the law or the Eons’ Terms of Use.

There is also a federal law that specifically protects children on the Internet. This law, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), addresses whether private or identifying information is being sought from children under the age of 13. It does not create any liability in situations where children are 13 or over (the minimum age for entry to Eons), or where children simply read or see something on the Internet. Also, COPPA places liability on Web site operators, not on those who merely post on a Web site.

Frankly, other than the laws mentioned above, our lawyers are scratching their heads over what liability might be triggered if a child views adult content posted on Eons. The Internet is like any other public place. If you were reading an adult magazine on a bus and a child looked over your shoulder, would you worry about your liability? Web sites aren’t really any different. Basically, when it comes to protecting children from simply viewing offensive material on the Internet, that’s really up to the child’s parent, and Eons has tried to make this clear in the section of our TOU entitled “Children Between the Ages of 13 and 18.”

Aside from legal liability, however, we think it’s a good idea to behave on Eons as you would in any other public place. If you were in a restaurant, talking about sexual matters with a friend, would you rein in your discussion a bit if you saw a child seated nearby? Or would you move your conversation over to a quieter, maybe less public area? Here on Eons, we can’t always know who is viewing our pages, but our ability to put warnings in place will help to inform parents of adult content and keep their children away from inappropriate content.