Whilst the book itself has not been deemed illegal in any jurisdiction, the nature of the pictures within it have caused debate over what constitutes child pornography[9] in both the US and the UK.

In 1998 Barnes & Noble was indicted on child pornography charges in the US states of Alabama and Tennessee due to selling The Age of Innocence as well as Radiant Identities and The Last Day of Summer by Jock Sturges.

Anti-abortion activist and then talk-show host Randall Terry has been credited with causing the prosecution, after he encouraged his listeners to locate prosecutors interested in taking the case.

The man stated in his defence that all of the images were sold by websites including WH Smith, Tesco, Waterstones, and Amazon.

[15] In 2010 a man was convicted of level 1 child pornography for owning four books, including The Age of Innocence as well as Still Time by Sally Mann, which he purchased from a bookstore in Walthamstow, London.

The judge concluded that "If the [CPS] wishes to test whether the pictures in the books are indecent, the right way to deal with the matter is by way of prosecuting the publisher or retailer—not the individual purchaser.