313. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Harmful matter" means matter, taken as a whole, which to the
average person, applying contemporary statewide standards, appeals to
the prurient interest, and is matter which, taken as a whole,
depicts or describes in a patently offensive way sexual conduct and
which, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political,
or scientific value for minors.
(1) When it appears from the nature of the matter or the
circumstances of its dissemination, distribution or exhibition that
it is designed for clearly defined deviant sexual groups, the appeal
of the matter shall be judged with reference to its intended
recipient group.
(2) In prosecutions under this chapter, where circumstances of
production, presentation, sale, dissemination, distribution, or
publicity indicate that matter is being commercially exploited by the
defendant for the sake of its prurient appeal, that evidence is
probative with respect to the nature of the matter and can justify
the conclusion that the matter lacks serious literary, artistic,
political, or scientific value for minors.
(b) "Matter" means any book, magazine, newspaper, video recording,
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
articles, equipment, machines, or materials. "Matter" also includes
live or recorded telephone messages when transmitted, disseminated,
or distributed as part of a commercial transaction.
(c) "Person" means any individual, partnership, firm, association,
corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity.
(d) "Distribute" means to transfer possession of, whether with or
without consideration.
(e) "Knowingly" means being aware of the character of the matter.
(f) "Exhibit" means to show.
(g) "Minor" means any natural person under 18 years of age.
313.1. (a) Every person who, with knowledge that a person is a
minor, or who fails to exercise reasonable care in ascertaining the
true age of a minor, knowingly sells, rents, distributes, sends,
causes to be sent, exhibits, or offers to distribute or exhibit by
any means, including, but not limited to, live or recorded telephone
messages, any harmful matter to the minor shall be punished as
specified in Section 313.4.
It does not constitute a violation of this section for a telephone
corporation, as defined by Section 234 of the Public Utilities Code,
to carry or transmit messages described in this chapter or to
perform related activities in providing telephone services.
(b) Every person who misrepresents himself or herself to be the
parent or guardian of a minor and thereby causes the minor to be
admitted to an exhibition of any harmful matter shall be punished as
specified in Section 313.4.
(c) (1) Any person who knowingly displays, sells, or offers to
sell in any coin-operated or slug-operated vending machine or
mechanically or electronically controlled vending machine that is
located in a public place, other than a public place from which
minors are excluded, any harmful matter displaying to the public view
photographs or pictorial representations of the commission of any of
the following acts shall be punished as specified in Section 313.4:
sodomy, oral copulation, sexual intercourse, masturbation,
bestiality, or a photograph of an exposed penis in an erect and
turgid state.
(2) Any person who knowingly displays, sells, or offers to sell in
any coin-operated vending machine that is not supervised by an adult
and that is located in a public place, other than a public place
from which minors are excluded, any harmful matter, as defined in
subdivision (a) of Section 313, shall be punished as specified in
Section 313.4.
(d) Nothing in this section invalidates or prohibits the adoption
of an ordinance by a city, county, or city and county that restricts
the display of material that is harmful to minors, as defined in this
chapter, in a public place, other than a public place from which
minors are excluded, by requiring the placement of devices commonly
known as blinder racks in front of the material, so that the lower
two-thirds of the material is not exposed to view.
(e) Any person who sells or rents video recordings of harmful
matter shall create an area within his or her business establishment
for the placement of video recordings of harmful matter and for any
material that advertises the sale or rental of these video
recordings. This area shall be labeled "adults only." The failure to
create and label the area is an infraction, punishable by a fine not
to exceed one hundred dollars ($100). The failure to place a video
recording or advertisement, regardless of its content, in this area
shall not constitute an infraction. Any person who sells or
distributes video recordings of harmful matter to others for resale
purposes shall inform the purchaser of the requirements of this
section. This subdivision shall not apply to public libraries as
defined in Section 18710 of the Education Code.
(f) Any person who rents a video recording and alters the video
recording by adding harmful material, and who then returns the video
recording to a video rental store, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
It shall be a defense in any prosecution for a violation of this
subdivision that the video rental store failed to post a sign,
reasonably visible to all customers, delineating the provisions of
this subdivision.
(g) It shall be a defense in any prosecution for a violation of
subdivision (a) by a person who knowingly distributed any harmful
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 harmful matter by
persons under 18 years of age:
(1) Required the person receiving the harmful matter to use an
authorized access or identification code, as provided by the
information provider, before transmission of the harmful matter
begins, where the defendant previously has issued the code by mailing
it to the applicant 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.
(h) It shall be a defense in any prosecution for a violation of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) that the defendant has taken either
of the following measures to restrict access to the harmful matter by
persons under 18 years of age:
(1) Required the person receiving the harmful matter to use an
authorized access or identification card to the vending machine 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 card 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 card is no longer desired.
(2) Required the person receiving the harmful matter to use a
token in order to utilize the vending machine after taking reasonable
measures to ascertain that the person was 18 years of age or older.
(i) Any list of applicants or recipients compiled or maintained by
an information-access service provider for purposes of compliance
with paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) is confidential and shall not
be sold or otherwise disseminated except upon order of the court.
313.2. (a) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit any parent or
guardian from distributing any harmful matter to his child or ward or
permitting his child or ward to attend an exhibition of any harmful
matter if the child or ward is accompanied by him.
(b) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit any person from
exhibiting any harmful matter to any of the following:
(1) A minor who is accompanied by his parent or guardian.
(2) A minor who is accompanied by an adult who represents himself
to be the parent or guardian of the minor and whom the person, by the
exercise of reasonable care, does not have reason to know is not the
parent or guardian of the minor.
313.3. 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.
313.4. Every person who violates Section 313.1, other than
subdivision (e), is punishable by fine of not more than two thousand
dollars ($2,000), by imprisonment in the county jail for not more
than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. However, if the
person has been previously convicted of a violation of Section
313.1, other than subdivision (e), or of any section of Chapter 7.5
(commencing with Section 311) of Title 9 of Part 1 of this code, the
person shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison.
313.5. If any phrase, clause, sentence, section or provision of
this chapter or application thereof to any person or circumstance is
held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect any other phrase,
clause, sentence, section, provision or application of this chapter,
which can be given effect without the invalid phrase, clause,
sentence, section, provision or application and to this end the
provisions of this chapter are declared to be severable.
313. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Harmful matter" means matter, taken as a whole, which to the
average person, applying contemporary statewide standards, appeals to
the prurient interest, and is matter which, taken as a whole,
depicts or describes in a patently offensive way sexual conduct and
which, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political,
or scientific value for minors.
(1) When it appears from the nature of the matter or the
circumstances of its dissemination, distribution or exhibition that
it is designed for clearly defined deviant sexual groups, the appeal
of the matter shall be judged with reference to its intended
recipient group.
(2) In prosecutions under this chapter, where circumstances of
production, presentation, sale, dissemination, distribution, or
publicity indicate that matter is being commercially exploited by the
defendant for the sake of its prurient appeal, that evidence is
probative with respect to the nature of the matter and can justify
the conclusion that the matter lacks serious literary, artistic,
political, or scientific value for minors.
(b) "Matter" means any book, magazine, newspaper, video recording,
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
articles, equipment, machines, or materials. "Matter" also includes
live or recorded telephone messages when transmitted, disseminated,
or distributed as part of a commercial transaction.
(c) "Person" means any individual, partnership, firm, association,
corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity.
(d) "Distribute" means to transfer possession of, whether with or
without consideration.
(e) "Knowingly" means being aware of the character of the matter.
(f) "Exhibit" means to show.
(g) "Minor" means any natural person under 18 years of age.
313.1. (a) Every person who, with knowledge that a person is a
minor, or who fails to exercise reasonable care in ascertaining the
true age of a minor, knowingly sells, rents, distributes, sends,
causes to be sent, exhibits, or offers to distribute or exhibit by
any means, including, but not limited to, live or recorded telephone
messages, any harmful matter to the minor shall be punished as
specified in Section 313.4.
It does not constitute a violation of this section for a telephone
corporation, as defined by Section 234 of the Public Utilities Code,
to carry or transmit messages described in this chapter or to
perform related activities in providing telephone services.
(b) Every person who misrepresents himself or herself to be the
parent or guardian of a minor and thereby causes the minor to be
admitted to an exhibition of any harmful matter shall be punished as
specified in Section 313.4.
(c) (1) Any person who knowingly displays, sells, or offers to
sell in any coin-operated or slug-operated vending machine or
mechanically or electronically controlled vending machine that is
located in a public place, other than a public place from which
minors are excluded, any harmful matter displaying to the public view
photographs or pictorial representations of the commission of any of
the following acts shall be punished as specified in Section 313.4:
sodomy, oral copulation, sexual intercourse, masturbation,
bestiality, or a photograph of an exposed penis in an erect and
turgid state.
(2) Any person who knowingly displays, sells, or offers to sell in
any coin-operated vending machine that is not supervised by an adult
and that is located in a public place, other than a public place
from which minors are excluded, any harmful matter, as defined in
subdivision (a) of Section 313, shall be punished as specified in
Section 313.4.
(d) Nothing in this section invalidates or prohibits the adoption
of an ordinance by a city, county, or city and county that restricts
the display of material that is harmful to minors, as defined in this
chapter, in a public place, other than a public place from which
minors are excluded, by requiring the placement of devices commonly
known as blinder racks in front of the material, so that the lower
two-thirds of the material is not exposed to view.
(e) Any person who sells or rents video recordings of harmful
matter shall create an area within his or her business establishment
for the placement of video recordings of harmful matter and for any
material that advertises the sale or rental of these video
recordings. This area shall be labeled "adults only." The failure to
create and label the area is an infraction, punishable by a fine not
to exceed one hundred dollars ($100). The failure to place a video
recording or advertisement, regardless of its content, in this area
shall not constitute an infraction. Any person who sells or
distributes video recordings of harmful matter to others for resale
purposes shall inform the purchaser of the requirements of this
section. This subdivision shall not apply to public libraries as
defined in Section 18710 of the Education Code.
(f) Any person who rents a video recording and alters the video
recording by adding harmful material, and who then returns the video
recording to a video rental store, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
It shall be a defense in any prosecution for a violation of this
subdivision that the video rental store failed to post a sign,
reasonably visible to all customers, delineating the provisions of
this subdivision.
(g) It shall be a defense in any prosecution for a violation of
subdivision (a) by a person who knowingly distributed any harmful
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 harmful matter by
persons under 18 years of age:
(1) Required the person receiving the harmful matter to use an
authorized access or identification code, as provided by the
information provider, before transmission of the harmful matter
begins, where the defendant previously has issued the code by mailing
it to the applicant 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.
(h) It shall be a defense in any prosecution for a violation of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) that the defendant has taken either
of the following measures to restrict access to the harmful matter by
persons under 18 years of age:
(1) Required the person receiving the harmful matter to use an
authorized access or identification card to the vending machine 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 card 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 card is no longer desired.
(2) Required the person receiving the harmful matter to use a
token in order to utilize the vending machine after taking reasonable
measures to ascertain that the person was 18 years of age or older.
(i) Any list of applicants or recipients compiled or maintained by
an information-access service provider for purposes of compliance
with paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) is confidential and shall not
be sold or otherwise disseminated except upon order of the court.
313.2. (a) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit any parent or
guardian from distributing any harmful matter to his child or ward or
permitting his child or ward to attend an exhibition of any harmful
matter if the child or ward is accompanied by him.
(b) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit any person from
exhibiting any harmful matter to any of the following:
(1) A minor who is accompanied by his parent or guardian.
(2) A minor who is accompanied by an adult who represents himself
to be the parent or guardian of the minor and whom the person, by the
exercise of reasonable care, does not have reason to know is not the
parent or guardian of the minor.
313.3. 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.
313.4. Every person who violates Section 313.1, other than
subdivision (e), is punishable by fine of not more than two thousand
dollars ($2,000), by imprisonment in the county jail for not more
than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. However, if the
person has been previously convicted of a violation of Section
313.1, other than subdivision (e), or of any section of Chapter 7.5
(commencing with Section 311) of Title 9 of Part 1 of this code, the
person shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison.
313.5. If any phrase, clause, sentence, section or provision of
this chapter or application thereof to any person or circumstance is
held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect any other phrase,
clause, sentence, section, provision or application of this chapter,
which can be given effect without the invalid phrase, clause,
sentence, section, provision or application and to this end the
provisions of this chapter are declared to be severable.
313. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Harmful matter" means matter, taken as a whole, which to the
average person, applying contemporary statewide standards, appeals to
the prurient interest, and is matter which, taken as a whole,
depicts or describes in a patently offensive way sexual conduct and
which, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political,
or scientific value for minors.
(1) When it appears from the nature of the matter or the
circumstances of its dissemination, distribution or exhibition that
it is designed for clearly defined deviant sexual groups, the appeal
of the matter shall be judged with reference to its intended
recipient group.
(2) In prosecutions under this chapter, where circumstances of
production, presentation, sale, dissemination, distribution, or
publicity indicate that matter is being commercially exploited by the
defendant for the sake of its prurient appeal, that evidence is
probative with respect to the nature of the matter and can justify
the conclusion that the matter lacks serious literary, artistic,
political, or scientific value for minors.
(b) "Matter" means any book, magazine, newspaper, video recording,
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
articles, equipment, machines, or materials. "Matter" also includes
live or recorded telephone messages when transmitted, disseminated,
or distributed as part of a commercial transaction.
(c) "Person" means any individual, partnership, firm, association,
corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity.
(d) "Distribute" means to transfer possession of, whether with or
without consideration.
(e) "Knowingly" means being aware of the character of the matter.
(f) "Exhibit" means to show.
(g) "Minor" means any natural person under 18 years of age.
313.1. (a) Every person who, with knowledge that a person is a
minor, or who fails to exercise reasonable care in ascertaining the
true age of a minor, knowingly sells, rents, distributes, sends,
causes to be sent, exhibits, or offers to distribute or exhibit by
any means, including, but not limited to, live or recorded telephone
messages, any harmful matter to the minor shall be punished as
specified in Section 313.4.
It does not constitute a violation of this section for a telephone
corporation, as defined by Section 234 of the Public Utilities Code,
to carry or transmit messages described in this chapter or to
perform related activities in providing telephone services.
(b) Every person who misrepresents himself or herself to be the
parent or guardian of a minor and thereby causes the minor to be
admitted to an exhibition of any harmful matter shall be punished as
specified in Section 313.4.
(c) (1) Any person who knowingly displays, sells, or offers to
sell in any coin-operated or slug-operated vending machine or
mechanically or electronically controlled vending machine that is
located in a public place, other than a public place from which
minors are excluded, any harmful matter displaying to the public view
photographs or pictorial representations of the commission of any of
the following acts shall be punished as specified in Section 313.4:
sodomy, oral copulation, sexual intercourse, masturbation,
bestiality, or a photograph of an exposed penis in an erect and
turgid state.
(2) Any person who knowingly displays, sells, or offers to sell in
any coin-operated vending machine that is not supervised by an adult
and that is located in a public place, other than a public place
from which minors are excluded, any harmful matter, as defined in
subdivision (a) of Section 313, shall be punished as specified in
Section 313.4.
(d) Nothing in this section invalidates or prohibits the adoption
of an ordinance by a city, county, or city and county that restricts
the display of material that is harmful to minors, as defined in this
chapter, in a public place, other than a public place from which
minors are excluded, by requiring the placement of devices commonly
known as blinder racks in front of the material, so that the lower
two-thirds of the material is not exposed to view.
(e) Any person who sells or rents video recordings of harmful
matter shall create an area within his or her business establishment
for the placement of video recordings of harmful matter and for any
material that advertises the sale or rental of these video
recordings. This area shall be labeled "adults only." The failure to
create and label the area is an infraction, punishable by a fine not
to exceed one hundred dollars ($100). The failure to place a video
recording or advertisement, regardless of its content, in this area
shall not constitute an infraction. Any person who sells or
distributes video recordings of harmful matter to others for resale
purposes shall inform the purchaser of the requirements of this
section. This subdivision shall not apply to public libraries as
defined in Section 18710 of the Education Code.
(f) Any person who rents a video recording and alters the video
recording by adding harmful material, and who then returns the video
recording to a video rental store, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
It shall be a defense in any prosecution for a violation of this
subdivision that the video rental store failed to post a sign,
reasonably visible to all customers, delineating the provisions of
this subdivision.
(g) It shall be a defense in any prosecution for a violation of
subdivision (a) by a person who knowingly distributed any harmful
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 harmful matter by
persons under 18 years of age:
(1) Required the person receiving the harmful matter to use an
authorized access or identification code, as provided by the
information provider, before transmission of the harmful matter
begins, where the defendant previously has issued the code by mailing
it to the applicant 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.
(h) It shall be a defense in any prosecution for a violation of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) that the defendant has taken either
of the following measures to restrict access to the harmful matter by
persons under 18 years of age:
(1) Required the person receiving the harmful matter to use an
authorized access or identification card to the vending machine 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 card 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 card is no longer desired.
(2) Required the person receiving the harmful matter to use a
token in order to utilize the vending machine after taking reasonable
measures to ascertain that the person was 18 years of age or older.
(i) Any list of applicants or recipients compiled or maintained by
an information-access service provider for purposes of compliance
with paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) is confidential and shall not
be sold or otherwise disseminated except upon order of the court.
313.2. (a) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit any parent or
guardian from distributing any harmful matter to his child or ward or
permitting his child or ward to attend an exhibition of any harmful
matter if the child or ward is accompanied by him.
(b) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit any person from
exhibiting any harmful matter to any of the following:
(1) A minor who is accompanied by his parent or guardian.
(2) A minor who is accompanied by an adult who represents himself
to be the parent or guardian of the minor and whom the person, by the
exercise of reasonable care, does not have reason to know is not the
parent or guardian of the minor.
313.3. 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.
313.4. Every person who violates Section 313.1, other than
subdivision (e), is punishable by fine of not more than two thousand
dollars ($2,000), by imprisonment in the county jail for not more
than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. However, if the
person has been previously convicted of a violation of Section
313.1, other than subdivision (e), or of any section of Chapter 7.5
(commencing with Section 311) of Title 9 of Part 1 of this code, the
person shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison.
313.5. If any phrase, clause, sentence, section or provision of
this chapter or application thereof to any person or circumstance is
held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect any other phrase,
clause, sentence, section, provision or application of this chapter,
which can be given effect without the invalid phrase, clause,
sentence, section, provision or application and to this end the
provisions of this chapter are declared to be severable.
