Child pornography laws in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
are covered by the
Protection of Children Act 1978
The Protection of Children Act 1978 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that criminalized indecent photographs of children. The Act applies in England and Wales. Similar provision for Scotland is contained in the Civic Government ...
("the 1978 Act"), which made it illegal to take, make, distribute, show, or possess for the intent of showing or distributing an indecent photograph of someone under the age of 18. The maximum penalty is 10 years in prison. In the context of digital media, saving an indecent image to a computer's hard drive is considered to be "making" the image, as it causes a copy to exist which did not exist before.
IWF.org.uk
, Internet Watch Foundation - R v Bowden Indecency is to be interpreted by a jury, who should apply the recognised standards of propriety.
The prohibition of content on the Internet that is potentially illegal under this law by British internet service provider
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...
s is however self-regulatory, coordinated by the non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
charity
Charity may refer to:
Giving
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing
* Ch ...
Internet Watch Foundation
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is a registered charity based in Cambridge, England. It states that its remit is "to minimise the availability of online sexual abuse content, specifically child sexual abuse images and videos hosted anywhe ...
(who has partnerships with many major ISPs in the country).
The 1978 Act was extended in 1994 (by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c.33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced a number of changes to the law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights, clamping down on unlicensed ...
) to cover "pseudo-photograph
The Protection of Children Act 1978 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that criminalized indecent photographs of children. The Act applies in England and Wales. Similar provision for Scotland is contained in the Civic Government ...
s" - images that appear to be photographs. The Sexual Offences Act 2003
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 (c. 42) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
It partly replaced the Sexual Offences Act 1956 with more specific and explicit wording. It also created several new offences such as non-consensual voyeuris ...
amended the age of subjects to which the act applied from under 16 to under 18. In 2008 the Act was further extended (by the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008
The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (c 4) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which makes significant changes in many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland and Nor ...
) to cover tracings, and other works derived from photographs or pseudo-photographs. In 2009 all sexual images depicting under 18s, not just those that were derived from photographs or pseudo-photographs, were criminalised by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009
The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (c. 25) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the law on coroners and criminal justice in England and Wales.
Among its provisions are:
*preventing criminals from profiting from publica ...
, under which any possession of images also became a criminal offence (whereas before it was legal to possess hard copies of images so long as there was no intention to show or distribute them to others).
Similar legal provisions exist in Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
but the 1978 Act does not extend to there.
The term "indecent images of children" or "child (sexual) abuse images" are generally preferred over "child pornography" in the United Kingdom.
See also
* Laws regarding child pornography
Child pornography is illegal in most countries, but there is substantial variation in definitions, categories, penalties, and interpretations of laws. Differences include the definition of "child" under the laws, which can vary with the age of ...
** Child pornography laws in the Netherlands Child pornography laws in the Netherlands declare child pornography illegal, making it one of the 103 out of 193 UN member states where it is illegal.
Dutch law referring to child pornography
According to the Wetboek van Strafrecht:
* Article 2 ...
** Child pornography laws in Portugal Child pornography laws in Portugal state that such pornography is statutorily criminalised in the Portuguese Criminal Code.
Age of consent
The age of sexual consent in Portugal is, in principle, 14 years of age. The participation of underage pe ...
** Child pornography laws in the United States
Child pornography laws in the United States specify that child pornography is illegal under federal law and in all states and is punishable by up to 20 years' imprisonment or a fine of $5000. The Supreme Court of the United States has found child ...
** Child pornography laws in Australia
Child pornography laws in Australia prohibit all sexual depictions of children under an age set by state and territory legislation. The relevant ages are under 16 in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Austral ...
** Child pornography laws in Canada
Child pornography laws in Canada forbid the production, distribution, and possession of child pornography, which are punishable by up to 20 years' imprisonment or a fine of $5,000.
Visual and written representations
Prohibition covers the visual ...
** Child pornography laws in Japan
The production, sale, distribution, and commercialization of child pornography in Japan is illegal under the ''Act on Punishment of Activities Relating to Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, and the Protection of Children'' (1999), and is pun ...
* Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command, or CEOP Command, is a command of the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), and is tasked to work both nationally and internationally to bring online child sex offenders, including those involved ...
(CEOP)
* Internet Watch Foundation
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is a registered charity based in Cambridge, England. It states that its remit is "to minimise the availability of online sexual abuse content, specifically child sexual abuse images and videos hosted anywhe ...
(IWF)
References
{{Pornography legality, state=collapsed
Child pornography law
Law of the United Kingdom
Childhood in the United Kingdom