PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

You can be punished for knowingly using a misleading website name to trick someone into seeing obscene material. That can mean a fine, up to 2 years in prison, or both. If you try to trick a minor, the penalty can be a fine, up to 10 years in prison, or both. Domain names that include words showing sexual content, like "sex" or "porn," are not misleading. "Material harmful to minors" means content with nudity, sex, or excretion that (1) mainly appeals to a sexual interest of minors, (2) is clearly offensive by adult community standards about what minors should see, and (3) has no serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors. "Sex" means masturbation, sexual intercourse, touching a person's genitals, or showing genitals when sexually aroused.

Title 18, §2252B

Crimes and Criminal Procedure, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Whoever knowingly uses a misleading domain name on the Internet with the intent to deceive a person into viewing material constituting obscenity shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.

(b)Whoever knowingly uses a misleading domain name on the Internet with the intent to deceive a minor into viewing material that is harmful to minors on the Internet shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.

(c)For the purposes of this section, a domain name that includes a word or words to indicate the sexual content of the site, such as “sex” or “porn”, is not misleading.

(d)For the purposes of this section, the term “material that is harmful to minors” means any communication, consisting of nudity, sex, or excretion, that, taken as a whole and with reference to its context—

(1)predominantly appeals to a prurient interest of minors;

(2)is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable material for minors; and

(3)lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.

(e)For the purposes of subsection (d), the term “sex” means acts of masturbation, sexual intercourse, or physcial contact with a person’s genitals, or the condition of human male or female genitals when in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2006—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 109–248 substituted “10 years” for “4 years”.

§2252B Misleading Domain Names on the Internet

Summary

Title 18, §2252B

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Citations & Metadata