Pornography laws by region

Pornography laws by region vary across jurisdictions in terms of definitions and restrictions on pornography. The production, distribution, and possession of pornographic films, photographs, and similar material are activities that are legal in many but not all countries, providing that any specific people featured in the material have consented to being included and are above a certain age. Various other restrictions often apply as well (e.g. to protect those who have intellectual disabilities or are highly intoxicated). The minimum age requirement for performers is most typically 18 years.

Pornography is usually expressed as obscene material by law and the meaning and range of obscenity differ from country to county. Most western countries allow hard-core pornography showing genitals and actual penetrations while other countries only allow soft-core pornography without showing genitals and actual penetrations. There are countries that ban pornography completely. It is illegal only to distribute and sell pornography in some countries, while in some countries it is even illegal to possess and watch it.

This article excludes material considered child pornography or zoophilic pornography. In most cases the legality of child pornography and the legality of zoophilic pornography are treated as separate issues, and they are usually subject to additional, specialized laws. Specialized laws to address the emerging phenomenon of "deep fake" pornographic content became an active subject of law-making and litigation in the 2020s, although fictional and semi-fictional pornography have existed throughout history. However, this news is subject to litigation.

Summary of pornography laws

This is a summary table of laws and their enforcement by governments. The subsequent sections contain more detail on each of the jurisdictions.

Africa Country Legal textsEnforcement Angola It is illegal to import pornography into Angola. However, the law about possession and distribution is not clearly stated. Botswana Under the article 178, the possession of "indecent and obscene material such as pornographic books, magazines, films, videos, DVDs, Blu-Ray, VHS, and software" is prohibited in Botswana. Possession or import of such material is illegal and punishable by a fine or up to four years imprisonment.Botswana Tourism Board, "Entry Requirements". botswanatourism.co.bw. Retrieved 15 December 2008. Djibouti The sale, manufacture, or distribution of all pornography, including child pornography, is prohibited, and is punishable by one year's imprisonment and a fine of up to 200,000 DJF ($1,130). Egypt Distribution is illegal Possession and access of pornography are not criminalised. No broad internet blocks Eritrea Eswatini Under the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act, No. 15 or 2018, the publication, viewership, and sharing of pornography is legal in Eswatini only if it passes a three-element test. Pornography is legal if it does not involve any non-consenting persons (including children or those with a significant disability), can be easily traced to its creator, and does not otherwise depict a sexual offense. Ethiopia Gabon Ghana Kenya Malawi Morocco In 2004, Morocco introduced severe punishments for promoting pornography. Nigeria South Africa Pornography rated X18 is permitted by the law only if sold to persons over the age of 18 in registered stores. South Sudan Sudan Tanzania In June 2025, the social media platform X was banned in the country after it was discovered that the app had allowed “explicit sexual material” to be distributed, which included same-sex pornography. Uganda Made illegal in 2014 up to 10 years in prison, defined as "any representation of the sexual parts of a person for primarily sexual excitement".In July 2018, the Ugandan government directed the country's ISPs to block 27 pornographic websites. Zambia Country Legal texts

Asia

Country Legal textsEnforcement Bangladesh Pornography Law 2012Banned and Punishable by Jail Bhutan People's Republic of China In late June 2025, sources reported that around 30 to 50 writers were arrested for writing gay erotica, or “danmei” since February of that same year. Hong Kong India (including all states and union territories) Blocking orders by the government to ISPs Indonesia Indonesia blocks any websites, as well as social networks that allow pornography. Examples of this include Reddit and Newgrounds, which are blocked in Indonesia. On July 23, 2023, X, which had just recently rebranded from its old name of Twitter at the time, was blocked in Indonesia due to prior usage of its domain, X.com, by sites that have violated these laws as well as laws regarding other “negative” content, such as gambling.

In June 2024, Indonesia threatened to ban X if it did not comply with the country’s pornography laws, with the Minister of Communication and Informatics, Budi Arie Setiadi, saying that the app “will certainly shut it services down” if it does not do so. Iran Pornography is illegal under Iranian law, which is based on Sharia Law.Death penalty. Iraq Penal Code Paragraph 403 Law on Combatting Prostitution All pornography sites are banned in federal Iraq as of 2022 No bans in autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan Region Japan Pornography showing sexual genitals is illegal in Japan. Pornography that blurs out sexual genitals is considered legal, which is distributed under the name “Adult Video” or AV for short. In 2011, Article 175 was amended to include the law’s application to digital pornography as well. North Korea In December 2019, a group of 13 students from Kim Il Sung University were arrested over alleged pornography distribution and production. As the majority of North Koreans do not have access to the internet, many types of foreign media, including pornography, is smuggled physically. South Korea Article 243 and 244 do not apply to online pornography. Laos Macau Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Nepal Article 121 of Criminal Code 2071 states that the production and distribution of “sexually obscene contents” is prohibited in Nepal. Philippines Qatar Saudi Arabia Pornography is a crime under the Sharia Law. Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Taiwan J.Y. Interpretation No. 617 & Article 235 of the Criminal Code. Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Blocking access to some websites that allow users to share pornographic content Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Vietnam Country Legal texts

Europe

Country Legal textsEnforcement Albania Andorra Austria Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark (including all territories) Estonia Finland(including Åland) France (including all territories) Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands (including all territories) North Macedonia Norway (including all territories) Poland Portugal (including all territories) Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain(including all territories) Sweden Switzerland Ukraine United Kingdom (including all territories) Under the Online Safety Act 2023, online platforms must verify that users are over 18 years of age in order to access pornography. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 banned pornography depicting erotic asphyxiation. Vatican City Country Legal texts

North-South America

Country Legal textsEnforcement Antigua and Barbuda Argentina The Bahamas Barbados Belize Bolivia Brazil Canada Chile Colombia Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador It is illegal to import "obscene articles" into El Salvador. Grenada Guatemala Guyana Haiti It is illegal to import pornography into Haiti. Honduras It is illegal to import pornography into Honduras. Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Peru Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname Trinidad and Tobago United States (including all territories) Uruguay Venezuela Country Legal texts

Oceania CountryLegal textsEnforcement Australia Criminal Code Act 1995Online pornography is legal in Australia but restricted by ID since March 2026. However, pornographic DVDs and magazines (which have since become obsolete) are rated X18+ by the Australian Classification Board (ACB), meaning they are restricted to those over the age of 18. Furthermore, they can only be purchased in the Australian Capital Territory and some parts of the Northern Territory. However, there are over 100 Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory that are classified as "dry communities", where it has been illegal to sell alcohol and pornography since 2007. Pornography may be designated as Refused Classification, and therefore banned in Australia, if it depicts violence (including violence unrelated to sex); fetishes such as bondage pornography, urolagnia, and erotic spanking; adult actors playing underage-looking characters (e.g. the schoolgirl fetish); and "offensive or abhorrent" practices and fantasies such as incest pornography. Fictional pornography depicting minors is illegal; one high-profile case in 2008 had a man convicted of possessing pornographic cartoons depicting child characters from The Simpsons.Australian Capital Territory Crimes Act 1900New South Wales Crimes Act 1900Northern Territory Criminal Code Act 1983Queensland Criminal Code Act 1899 Classification of Publications Act 1991 Classification of Films Act 1991 Classification of Computer Games and Images Act 1995South Australia Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 Summary Offences Act 1953Tasmania Criminal Code Act 1924 Police Offences Act 1935 Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Enforcement Act 1995Victoria Crimes Act 1958Western Australia Criminal Code Act Compilation Act 1913 Fiji There is currently no law that prohibits online pornography in Fiji. However, pornography cannot be imported into Fiji. Kiribati Nauru Pornography, including online pornography, is illegal in Nauru and pornographic websites are blocked. New Zealand Papua New Guinea Samoa Pornography is illegal in American Samoa and is punishable by a fine of up to $USD5,000.In 2021, a court ruled that online pornography should be blocked by Samoa's two major service providers, Digicel and Vodafone. Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Production of pornography is illegal in Vanuatu. CountryLegal texts

See also

Legality of child pornography Legal status of fictional pornography depicting minors

Notes

References