Another apparent attempt to fight child pornography

 The Verkhovna Rada has passed as a base a draft law on fighting the spread of child pornography. The draft law (reg. No. 3271) is supposed to heighten measures combating the preparation, sale and circulation of child pornography and involving children in the preparation of such material.

Amendments proposed to the Law “On telecommunications” would oblige telecommunications advisers to inform the law enforcement agencies of all offences they detected involving the preparation, sale and circulation of child pornography and to use all necessary technical means to prevent the viewing of such resources in telecommunications networks.

The draft law would also make consumers of telecommunications services obliged to tell the telecommunications provider and / or law enforcement agencies if they discovered on the Internet material linked with violence, child pornography, demonstrations of racial and national intolerance and terrorism, propaganda of drugs or violations of intellectual property rights.

Changes suggested to the Law “On the protection of public morality” define the concept of “production of a pornographic nature” created with the participation of a child or with the use of their image; the preparation of child pornography for the purpose of circulating it via computer systems; offering or providing access to child pornography, circulating it, with the help of information and communication systems, buying, sharing and storing child pornography via computer systems for oneself or others, etc.

Criminal liability for circulating child pornography via computer systems would bring a fine from 300 to 500 the minimum wage before tax, or imprisonment for up to five years.