18 U.S.C. § 2252C

Current through P.L. 118-40 (published on www.congress.gov on 03/01/2024)
Section 2252C - Misleading words or digital images on the Internet
(a) IN GENERAL.-Whoever knowingly embeds words or digital images into the source code of a website with the intent to deceive a person into viewing material constituting obscenity shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for not more than 10 years.
(b) MINORS.-Whoever knowingly embeds words or digital images into the source code of a website with the intent to deceive a minor into viewing material harmful to minors on the Internet shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for not more than 20 years.
(c) CONSTRUCTION.-For the purposes of this section, a word or digital image that clearly indicates the sexual content of the site, such as "sex" or "porn", is not misleading.
(d) DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section-
(1) the terms "material that is harmful to minors" and "sex" have the meaning given such terms in section 2252B; and
(2) the term "source code" means the combination of text and other characters comprising the content, both viewable and nonviewable, of a web page, including any website publishing language, programming language, protocol or functional content, as well as any successor languages or protocols.

18 U.S.C. § 2252C

Added Pub. L. 109-248, title VII, §703(a), July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 648.