Pornography
The term pornography has been used since the middle of the 19th century and originally comes from Ancient Greek meaning "to write about whores/fornication". Today, magazines, books, films, videos, images, text, computer games depicting sexual activities, the human sexual organs as well as the sexual act in detail, are called pornography.
According to the jurisprudence of Germany’s Federal Court of Justice, pornography is present when "a depiction, excluding all other human references, focuses on sexual activity in a grossly intrusive manner and whose overall tendency is exclusively or predominantly aimed at sexual stimulation” (see BGHSt 23,44;37,55 – German Federal Court of Justice in Criminal Cases 23,44;37,55).
Under § 184 StGB pornographic contents – which not only includes photos, books, illustrations, videos and magazines, but also all analogue and digital sound and image carriers as well as data storage media (e.g. hard disks, RAM, floppy disks, CD, DVD etc.) – must not be made accessible to young people under the age of 18.
This means you are liable for prosecution if you offer, show or sell pornographic images, depictions or films to those under 18.
But Beware!
For people under the age of 14, it is even a criminal offence if someone tells pornographic things (§176 a Para. 1 No. 3 StGB).
Sending unsolicited pornographic content via messenger (e.g. Whatsapp), social media or dating apps, for example, is a criminal offence. Forwarding pornographic content to minors* is also a criminal offence.
For example, nude images of children (up to the age of 13) or adolescents (14 to 17) fall under the creation, possession or distribution of child pornography (Section 184b StGB) or youth pornography (Section 184c StGB).
An age check is required for the use of pornography on the internet. Unfortunately, many providers do not comply with this.
Furthermore: There are also legal prohibitions on the use of pornography for adults. So-called "hardcore pornography" falls under this area. This includes: violent pornography, sexual acts with animals and above all child pornography. Anyone loading pornographic content like this onto their mobile phone or PC is liable for prosecution. For adults the possession or passing on of “soft” pornography is not punishable where they own it or are passing it on to other mutually consenting adults.
If you come across websites on the Internet that contain pornographic content without sufficient access control for minors, or if you accidentally come across websites with hardcore pornography, report this to the Internet Complaints Office and then delete the site immediately.
immediately. You can also take legal action against harassment in chat rooms with sexual expressions, confrontation with pornographic content or requests to show yourself naked or to take photos. Click here to go to the Internet Complaints Centre.