Adult Content Verification Act

Summary#

This bill creates a new federal law that limits who may upload pornographic images to many online platforms. It requires platforms to verify the uploader’s identity and age and to collect signed, specific consent and identification from each person pictured. The bill also creates civil and criminal penalties for violations and orders the Attorney General to provide a standard consent form.

• Main change: Platforms that host user-generated content must verify (1) the uploader’s identity and that they are 18 or older and (2) that every person pictured was 18 when the image was made and gave written consent both for the sex acts and for distribution of that specific image.
• Platforms must use an adult access code, a digital age certificate, or other AG-approved verification methods. Simply asking a user to click a box is not enough.
• The Attorney General must create a consent form within 60 days and platforms must make it available 90 days after enactment. The verification rules take effect 90 days after enactment and apply to images uploaded before, on, or after that date.
• Civil penalties: providers can face up to $10,000 per image per day after notice for failing to verify uploaders; individuals harmed can sue for $10,000 per image per day or actual damages if platforms fail to verify participants or if users upload without consent. The bill leaves section 230 of the Communications Act in place.
• Criminal penalties: a violation can bring up to 5 years in prison for a first offense; repeat offenses carry a prison term of 2 to 10 years.
• The bill also amends an existing law to require covered platforms to prevent the reupload of removed images.

What it means for you#

• Users who upload images: You must be verified as 18 or older to upload pornographic images. You must provide or enable the required consent forms and ID for every person shown. Uploading without required consent can lead to civil suits and criminal charges.
• People pictured in images: The bill requires a signed consent form and ID for distribution of each specific image. If you did not consent, you may bring a civil case for damages.
• Online platforms and apps (covered platforms): If your site primarily hosts user-generated content or regularly publishes intimate images, you must build or adopt systems to verify uploader identity and age and to collect, check, and keep consent forms and ID for everyone pictured. You must also take steps to prevent reuploads of removed images. The bill excludes broadband internet service providers and email services and sites that are mainly non-user-generated content.
• Small sites and individual creators: Sites that meet the covered-platform definition will face the same verification requirements. It is unclear how the law will apply to small or hobby sites and to people who post on social media.
• Law enforcement and the Justice Department: The Attorney General enforces civil penalties and must create an approved consent form and approve alternative forms. The AG may use penalty proceeds for enforcement.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

• The bill allows the Attorney General to use civil penalty money collected under the law for enforcement activities.
• The bill creates new tasks for the Department of Justice (making a consent form, approving alternatives, enforcing penalties), which could require staff time and resources, but no cost estimate is provided.
• Platforms will likely face compliance costs to build or buy age- and identity-verification systems, store consent and ID securely, and implement reupload prevention, but the bill does not estimate those costs.

Proponents' View#

• The bill appears intended to reduce non-consensual sharing of intimate images by making platforms verify age and consent before distribution.
• Requiring signed, specific consent for each image aims to protect people from images being shared without permission.
• Civil and criminal penalties create a legal remedy and deterrent against those who upload or host images without required verification.
• Preventing reuploads seeks to stop removed images from resurfacing on the same platform.

Opponents' View#

• One concern is that the bill does not provide a fiscal estimate, so the public cost and the cost to platforms are unclear.
• The bill requires platforms to collect government-style ID and consent forms. This raises questions about privacy and how platforms must store and protect sensitive identity documents.
• It is unclear how feasible the required verification methods will be in practice, especially across many platforms and for cross-border users. The bill allows the Attorney General to approve “other reasonable” methods, but does not state standards for feasibility, privacy, or security.
• The definition of who is “reasonably identifiable” could be broad (it includes background features and voice matching), which may capture images where identification is uncertain.
• The law applies to images uploaded before the effective date as well as after. It is unclear how platforms should handle existing image libraries and old uploads.
• The bill says it does not affect section 230, and that it should not prohibit First Amendment-protected speech, but it does not fully explain how courts should balance those protections against the new verification and consent rules.
• It is unclear how the criminal penalties will be applied in practice (for example, when they apply to platform operators versus individual uploaders).