Arkansas Age Verification Mandate Takes Effect Monday July 31

On Monday July 31, Arkansas’ law requiring age verification for sites hosting adult content will take effect. Sites that do not age-verify users as prescribed by the law will be liable for civil suits should a minor access — and be harmed by — content on the site.

What’s covered

Arkansas defines content “harmful to minors”  similarly to other states. 

What’s required

The law requires sites to use one or more of the following age verification methods:

• A digitized identification card, including a digital copy of a driver’s license
• Government-issued identification
• Any commercially reasonable age verification method that holds an Identity Assurance Level 2 (IAL2)

Despite passing a law authorizing them in 2017, Arkansas does not yet have a digital identification card.

If you are using an age verification software provider, be sure to ask them whether their product is IAL2 certified.

What FSC is doing

FSC is exploring a legal challenge to the Arkansas law. In the meantime, we will continue to keep you informed.

Check out our Age Verification Resources for more tools and information.