Relevant Legislation - An overview
This section is intended to be a quick reference overview.
For more detailed explanations of UK legislation relating to IWF role and remit please click here
Protection of Children Act (POCA) 1978 England & Wales
It is an offence to take, permit to be taken, make, possess, show, distribute or advertise indecent images of children in the United Kingdom. The word indecent should be taken at its dictionary meaning; as a guide it means any images of children, apparently under 18 years of age, involved in sexual activity or posed to be sexually provocative.
Civic Government Act (Scotland) 1982
Section 52 - Indecent Child Photographs
(1) Any person who-
(a) takes, or permits to be taken or makes, any indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child under 16 years of age;
(b) distributes or shows such an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph;
(c) has in his possession such an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph with a view to its being distributed or shown by himself or others; or
(d) publishes or causes to be published any advertisement likely to be understood as conveying that the advertiser distributes or shows such an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph, or intends to do so, shall be guilty of an offence under this section.
(1) Any person who-
(a) takes, or permits to be taken or makes, any indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child under 16 years of age;
(b) distributes or shows such an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph;
(c) has in his possession such an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph with a view to its being distributed or shown by himself or others; or
(d) publishes or causes to be published any advertisement likely to be understood as conveying that the advertiser distributes or shows such an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph, or intends to do so, shall be guilty of an offence under this section.
Section 52A - Possession of Photographs
(1) It is an offence for a person to have any indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child in his possession.
Sexual Offences Act 2003
S. 45 Indecent photographs of persons aged 16 or 17.
The Protection of Children Act 1978 – meaning of “child” - increased from 16 to 18 years of age.
S. 46 Criminal proceedings, investigations.
In proceedings for an offence under section 1(1)(a) of making an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph, the defendant is not guilty of the offence if he proves that it was necessary for him to make the photograph or pseudo-photograph for the purposes of the prevention, detection or investigation of crime, or for the purposes of criminal proceedings, in any part of the world.
Obscene Publications Act 1959
The law on obscene publications is difficult to define in everyday terms, and it is for a court to decide what is obscene. As a guide it would be images featuring extreme acts of sexual activity such as bestiality, non-consensual sex or extreme torture.
This act makes it an offence to publish, whether for gain or not, any article whose effect, taken as a whole, is such, in the view of the court, to tend to "deprave and corrupt" those likely to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it.
Public Order Act 1986
The law covering criminally racist material makes it an offence to stir up racial hatred against a group of persons in Great Britain defined by reference to colour, race, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origins.
Liability of intermediary service providers
Page Created: Fri, October 15th, 2004
Page Modified: Thu, October 21st, 2004
