Legal Question in Criminal Law in Virginia

Those websites are only trying to scare away minor children. There continue to be more, newer laws making such website operators legally responsible if any minor children access pornography. They are supposed to put up barriers and filters to prevent children from accessing the website. They have a legal responsibility to try to stop minors from entering their site. Therefore, as part of those barriers they ask the age and they also try to scare children away from saying they are older.

This might not be enough to prevent the website operator from being legally guilty. Usually more elaborate mechanisms are needed to protect children, such as entering a credit card to at least prove that the person is old enough to have a credit card (although that is not perfect).

Perjury is the crime of lying UNDER OATH about a fact that is RELEVANT (material) to a proceeding or legal document or issue.

For example, if a woman were testifying in court about a car accident, and one party asked her if she were a NATURAL blonde or dyed her hair blonde, this would not be material to the trial. It would be irrelevant. It could nto affect the outcome of the trial. So even if she lied about the hair color, she could not be successfully prosecuted about her hair color (unless somehow it was part of the trial).

WHen a website asks you your age it is (a) not under oath, (b) not a legal proceeding or legal document and (c) not relevant or material to any legal issue, document or proceeding.

NOTE: When you fill out forms to the government, often times these are automatically TREATED as if they were under oath. For example, lying on a voter registration card, lying on an application for a government permit, etc., etc. can be automatically TREATED as under oath and therefore perjury, even if no one swears you in.

But on teh website, there is no Notary Public swearing you in under oath.