[Robert "Bobby" Oxford Jr]

Child Play-Bys: What You Should Know
An Informative but Subjective Guide to Child Play-Bys and Their Use

As administrators and role-players we've had to ask the question at least once in our online writing: is it illegal to use physical representations of our under thirteen characters? This could be from using a nine-year-old celebrity who now is in their late forties, to face claims who are still under the age of thirteen. This guide is intended to make the staff of any role-playing forum aware of what having child play-bys under the age of thirteen really entails. Think of it as Mythbusters for the role-playing community.

For the purposes of this guide the information contained herein will be in reference to United States laws regarding United States hosts. Laws for other countries will vary widely and it is always recommended to check your local laws in regards to use of images of children under the age of thirteen being used in play-by ways.

Is it illegal to use pictures of children under the age of thirteen?

It is a common misconception that using play-bys under the age of thirteen constitutes child exploitation or abuse. There are only three ways in which using images of play-bys under the age of thirteen (or under the age of eighteen for that matter) will get you in potentially legal trouble with servers and hosts, as well as law enforcement.

If you use them in a sexually explicit scene. Many countries (U.S. included) don't mess around with suspicions of child porn. HOWEVER, if you are using one of the free U.S. hosts, you aren't even supposed to be writing sexually explicit scenes with adult characters and play-bys, usually as part of their Terms of Service (ToS).
Copyright violation for using photos that don't belong to you. And again, this is not just restricted to child play-bys.
You brilliantly put your under thirteen character's birthday into the birthday field of the profile page. It now looks like the site has an under thirteen member, which is another common ToS violation.

As always you should check your host's Terms of Service along with your local child picture laws to insure you are not using them in an inappropriate manner.

What images am I okay to use?

It is recommended to use celebrity children for play-bys, or stock photos where there is no name associated. Using random images of children can bring you upset and angry parents. Images of children from say school plays or a sports event belong to those parents and should not be redistributed for use on our forums or any website for that matter. Should a parent express their wishes to not have their children use any role-player should agree to their request and take down those specific images. Celebrity photos and stock photos (which you should be able to link to) are the best sources for child play-bys.

How should I approach the subject of child play-bys on my site(s)?

In the end it is up to the staff of a board to determine whether or not they want to allow play-bys under the age of thirteen, but it is wrong to feed false information to members from not only your own role-play but to directory sites and through word-of-mouth. The examples given above are the only three situations where legal action could potentially be taken, or you can have your site shut down.

If you are unsure of whether or not using images of underage play-bys is against the ToS for the host you are on it doesn't hurt to ask. Many play-bys used are celebrities and, because they have their images out everywhere, it is not considered child exploitation unless they are used in an inappropriate or illegal manner.

If when advertising there may be sites that state in their own rules that sites under the age of thirteen are not allowed to advertise on their board, you should always respect their wishes. It is their site and they are allowed to run advertising/role-playing as they see fit. However it is not okay for anyone to give you false information regarding child play-bys, and as always it is up to the individual to decide if they want to do the proper research on using these underage play-bys, or would rather not use them just to make absolutely sure.

NOTE: These are a few simple observations made and while we know that laws change, we would like everyone to know what we said may change (or has other stipulations involved behind it). This is merely advice we are giving; things may change or other circumstances may arise and you should always make sure for yourself if you are not 100% sold on something anyone tells you.

Credit: RPG Directory

[Deleted]

Following up: This is excerpted from an email from my cousin's law firm (her paralegal):

...It doesn't apply. The relevant law is Intellectual Property, so long as the images of the children are legal (i.e., not pornographic.) Otherwise all you need to do is make sure anything you use will not generate profit or income for anyone, or if it does, that you make sure to find to the original artist and trade permission for compensation. The fact that the images are of children is not relevant.

She is Ms. Lewis at Bronson, Taylor associates LLP in Chicago, IL.