WHAT ARE AGE VERIFICATION (AV) LAWS?
This is the introductory description for XXX. It appears when the main XXX accordion is opened.
You can have multiple paragraphs here before the nested dropdowns begin.
PIXELATION, CENSOR BARS, BLURS
Perhaps one of the most commonly used and familiar tools for artists is image manipulation: strategically placed censor bars, selective cropping, pixellation, and blurring.
CROPPING
Share only portions, zoomed in, etc. — link elsewhere for the full artwork image.
CLEVER CAROUSEL USAGE
Some artists use text to cover parts of their images, calling attention to their self-censorship as an act of defiance.
CONTEXTUALIZE
Signal that it’s art with caption text, frames, showing walls or installation views, pencils, brushes, etc.
ALGOSPEAK
Platforms analyze both the image and the text of a post to determine whether it follows their guidelines.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ARTISTS & WEBSITES?
This is the introductory description for XXX. It appears when the main XXX accordion is opened.
You can have multiple paragraphs here before the nested dropdowns begin.
PIXELATION, CENSOR BARS, BLURS
Perhaps one of the most commonly used and familiar tools for artists is image manipulation: strategically placed censor bars, selective cropping, pixellation, and blurring.
CROPPING
Share only portions, zoomed in, etc. — link elsewhere for the full artwork image.
CLEVER CAROUSEL USAGE
Some artists use text to cover parts of their images, calling attention to their self-censorship as an act of defiance.
CONTEXTUALIZE
Signal that it’s art with caption text, frames, showing walls or installation views, pencils, brushes, etc.
ALGOSPEAK
Platforms analyze both the image and the text of a post to determine whether it follows their guidelines.
In the last four years, age verification (AV) laws have been introduced in many U.S. states with the declared goal of protecting minors 17 and under from online content legally defined as “harmful to minors”: sexual material that may be considered legally obscene as to minors. Many of these laws require websites to restrict minors’ access to qualifying material, often by requiring site visitors to verify that they are adults before they can access the site or age restricted content. The exact requirements and thresholds vary by state.
These laws stand to have cascading effects across the internet: undermining the privacy and anonymity of site visitors; creating a chilling effect and self censorship among artists and cultural institutions; and, as a result, restricting what netizens of all ages can access online.
While NCAC finds AV laws deeply problematic in general, this resource addresses practical questions of urgent interest of artists and cultural organizations: what AV laws are; how they impact the online presence of artists and cultural organizations; and what artists and cultural institutions can practically do to protect themselves from legal action.
