Let's not forget that Smashwords is an American company, your ebooks are distributed by an American company, your ebooks are stored on American servers, and your royalties are paid by an American company.
The nexus is America, therefor authors must abide by American laws.
The Internet law question of jurisdiction comes into play every time a person from another country purchases an item in a different country.
Also, there is the question of how pornography is defined in various countries. In Canada:
Child pornography is a criminal offence under section 163.1 of the Canadian Criminal Code:
163.1 (1) In this section, "child pornography" means
(a) a photographic, film, video or other visual representation, whether or not it was made by electronic or mechanical means,
(I) that shows a person who is or is depicted as being under the age of eighteen years and is engaged in or is depicted as engaged in explicit sexual activity, or
(ii) the dominant characteristic of which is the depiction, for a sexual purpose, of a sexual organ or the anal region of a person under the age of eighteen years; or
(b) any written material or visual representation that advocates or counsels sexual activity with a person under the age of eighteen years that would be an offence under this Act.
Now where this becomes a tad confusing is Canadian law defining
Age of Consent as "The age of consent, also known as the "age of protection", refers to the age at which a young person can legally consent to sexual activity.
All sexual activity without consent, regardless of age, is a criminal offence."
But, The age of consent for sexual activity is
16 years in Canada.
However,
the age of consent is 18 years where the sexual activity "
exploits" the young person -- when it involves prostitution, pornography or occurs in a relationship of authority, trust or dependency (e.g., with a teacher, coach or babysitter). Sexual activity can also be considered exploitative based on the nature and circumstances of the relationship, e.g., the young person's age, the age difference between the young person and their partner, how the relationship developed (quickly, secretly, or over the Internet) and how the partner may have controlled or influenced the young person.
Lots more from the Department of Justice Canada on "Age of Consent" is here...
www.justice.gc.ca/eng/dept-min/clp/faq.htmlNow if you would like some really dry legal reading regarding "personal jurisdiction" and the Internet read this article on a 2011 decision:
ecommercelaw.typepad.com/ecommerce_law/2011/04/tenth-circuit-limits-personal-jurisdiction-boundaries-in-internet-context.html#moreErotic authors using 'underage' characters must consider not only their financial health after being sued by a parent who discovers the offending ebook being read by an 'underage' person, but their work possibly being removed from stores for violating the retailers TOS.
The problem as I see it, writing stories involving underage characters, is that the purchaser may be a mother or father who becomes disgusted with the book when he/she reads about situations involving underage characters.
Now imagine that parent or friend of that parent, possibly a Senator, or TV personality, or public official or celebrity, rants to the world about your offending book. Believe me, most authors don't have enough money to mount a successful legal defence.
Yes, your work would have gotten a tremendous amount of free publicity. But your works may be removed from retailers.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for authors having the right to write what they want. Writing works involving 'underage characters' needs knowledge of law, and the skills to present your 'underage characters' in situations both legally correct and honoring your idea.
