Hello Piwigo Developers:

I operate a free website for adults which displays erotic artwork.  I have always had a very clear "Terms of Service" (TOS) which states the website is only for adults and I require all users to agree to the TOS and create an account to see any images.  I use Piwigo to display the artwork.

Concerningly 25 states in the USA have now passed laws requiring AGE VERIFICATION for websites which present material considered potentially "harmful to minors."  Some states have enacted very severe penalties for non-adherence to their laws, for example Texas has fines of $10,000 per day for non-adherent websites plus an enhanced $250,000 fine if a minor accesses any "harmful material" due to a website’s failure to comply.  Of course the term "harmful material" varies from state to state.

The state of Tennessee requires website operators keep at least seven (7) years of historical anonymized age-verification data and they make violation of their AGE-VERIFICATION or DATA-RETENTION-REQUIREMENTS a Class C felony resulting in prison time of 3 to 15 years.

South Dakota also makes non-compliance a felony criminal offense.

Indiana and Illinois are considering legislative proposals that would introduce CRIMINAL charges for non-compliant websites.

In short, compliance with all the many contradictory state laws is a legal and technical nightmare.  Furthermore, the requirements are constantly evolving, currently there are dozens of pending STATE and FEDERAL age verification bills.  Nine (9) new age verification bills have been introduced during the last two weeks! For more info about age verification see:

Laws already in effect ( **no link** )

Laws pending ( **no link**)

Wired magazine, The Age-Gated Internet Is Sweeping the US. Activists Are Fighting Back ( **no link** )

EFF, Age Verification Is Coming For the Internet. We Built You a Resource Hub to Fight Back ( **no link** )

I spoke with an attorney who is very knowledgeable about age verification laws. He helped write an amicus brief for The Woodhull Freedom Foundation, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and TechFreedom with the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) in "Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton" arguing that Texas’s age verification law H.B. 1181 violates First Amendment rights and threatens sexual freedom online.   He told me that all adult websites be compliant.  So a few days ago I have shutdown my website because I do not want to get fined or go to prison for non-compliance with age verifications laws.  It's particularly sad for me to turn off my website because I live in a state (California) which does not have age-verification laws, but I must comply with the age-verification which have been passed in other states.

I think that **no link** is a good list of providers of age-verification technology.  In the "Online Sectors served" table they highlight which providers serve the "Adult Content (viewers)" segment.  But these are all paid services and it might get expensive to use one of them.

The only free age-verification tool that I've found is **no link** but I'm not sure if **no link** meets the rigid standards which have been set by the state bills because **no link** mainly does webcam AI-based AGE ESTIMATION.  Most of the state laws that I've looked do not allow AI-based age estimation, they require that users present a government issued ID (Passport or Drivers License) to prove their age.

Anyhow, I am wondering is anyone using Piwigo has an "adult content" website and if they have found a good age verification solution.   It would be wonderful is there was a Piwigo extension which did age verification.  I do a little software development.  I'd rather not try to create an extension on my own but I'd be happy to partner with someone else in creating an age verification Extension.

Last edited by ddtddt (2026-02-13 06:48:43)