California Penal Code 311.8 – (a) It shall be a defense in any prosecution for a violation of …
(a) It shall be a defense in any prosecution for a violation of this chapter that the act charged was committed in aid of legitimate scientific or educational purposes.
(b) It shall be a defense in any prosecution for a violation of this chapter by a person who knowingly distributed any obscene matter by the use of telephones or telephone facilities to any person under the age of 18 years that the defendant has taken either of the following measures to restrict access to the obscene matter by persons under 18 years of age:
Terms Used In California Penal Code 311.8
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Knowingly: means being aware of the character of the matter or live conduct. See California Penal Code 311
- Matter: means any book, magazine, newspaper, or other printed or written material, or any picture, drawing, photograph, motion picture, or other pictorial representation, or any statue or other figure, or any recording, transcription, or mechanical, chemical, or electrical reproduction, or any other article, equipment, machine, or material. See California Penal Code 311
- Obscene matter: means matter, taken as a whole, that to the average person, applying contemporary statewide standards, appeals to the prurient interest, that, taken as a whole, depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and that, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. See California Penal Code 311
- Person: means any individual, partnership, firm, association, corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity. See California Penal Code 311
(1) Required the person receiving the obscene matter to use an authorized access or identification code, as provided by the information provider, before transmission of the obscene matter begins, where the defendant has previously issued the code by mailing it to the applicant therefor after taking reasonable measures to ascertain that the applicant was 18 years of age or older and has established a procedure to immediately cancel the code of any person after receiving notice, in writing or by telephone, that the code has been lost, stolen, or used by persons under the age of 18 years or that the code is no longer desired.
(2) Required payment by credit card before transmission of the matter.
(c) Any list of applicants or recipients compiled or maintained by an information-access service provider for purposes of compliance with subdivision (b) is confidential and shall not be sold or otherwise disseminated except upon order of the court.
(Amended by Stats. 1987, Ch. 1101, Sec. 1.)