Is there a law banning pornography over the internet? Or do you need to be a certain age?

you do need to be over 18.......................probably over 21in USA

There have been several attempts by Congress. All have been fully or partially struck down as unconstitutional.

Pornography (involving adults) is constitutionally protected in the US under the 1st Amendment.

Child pornography is not protected, and any individual work that meets the Miller standard for obscenity is not protected. But broad sweeping bans on all pornography are not allowed.

It is allowable to restrict access to pornography to adults, and many sites choose them option even where not required by law.

There was the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), a 1998 law that makes it illegal for commercial Web sites to make available to children 16 and under material that is not necessarily obscene but could be considered "harmful to minors" under a complex, three-part formula in the law.

The law had been deemed unconstitutional by the Court of Appeals, under Ashcroft v. ACLU, and was heard by the Supreme Court in 2004.

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court determined that the law probably violated First Amendment rights.

Justice Kennedy stated in his majority opinion of the Court that rapid changes in technology would make filtering software a more effective tool to block access than the more restrictive means laid out in COPA, such as age verification and use of a credit card.

He said a new trial would allow fresh discussion of the kinds of technology that could satisfy constitutional concerns.

Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, Clarence Thomas and Ruth Bader Ginsburg agreed with Kennedy.

No news on the new trial is available.

Concerning the definition of obscenity and its lack of protection under the First Amendment, the Supreme Court, in Roth v. United States and Alberts v. California, has ruled that:

"Obscene material is material which deals with sex in a manner appealing to prurient interest. The portrayal of sex, e. g., in art, literature and scientific works, is not itself sufficient reason to deny material the constitutional protection of freedom of speech and press. ...It is therefore vital that the standards for judging obscenity safeguard the protection of freedom of speech and press for material which does not treat sex in a manner appealing to prurient interest.

The early leading standard of obscenity allowed material to be judged merely by the effect of an isolated excerpt upon particularly susceptible persons. Some American courts adopted this standard but later decisions have rejected it and substituted this test: whether to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to prurient interest."

This standard is applied to all alleged obscene material except for child pornography and beastiality, which are totally prohibited.

PARENTS THAT ARE CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR KIDS, CAN THEN VISIT THESE SITES TO HELP PROTECT THEM:

Net Nanny http://www.netnanny.com/

Cyber Patrol http://www.cyberpatrol.com/

Cyber Sitter http://www.cybersitter.com/

ICRA http://www.icra.org/

ASACP http://www.asacp.org/index.php

the only stipulations for porn is 18+. there are some conditions on it, however. no bondage, no blood, no bathroom scenes...and a few more i believe. d*mn Alberto Gonzalez.

t depends on the type and location being accesed from