Penal Code - PEN 311.2. PART 1. OF CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS [25. - 680.4.] TITLE 9. OF CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON INVOLVING SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC DECENCY AND GOOD MORALS [261. - 368.7.] CHAPTER 7.5. Obscene Matter [311. - 312.7.] (a) Every person who knowingly sends or causes to be sent, or brings or causes to be brought, into this state for sale or distribution, or in this state possesses, prepares, publishes, produces, or prints, with intent to distribute or to exhibit to others, or who offers to distribute, distributes, or exhibits to others, any obscene matter is for a first offense, guilty of a misdemeanor. If the person has previously been convicted of any violation of this section, the court may, in addition to the punishment authorized in Section 311.9, impose a fine not exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($50,000). (b) Every person who knowingly sends or causes to be sent, or brings or causes to be brought, into this state for sale or distribution, or in this state possesses, prepares, publishes, produces, develops, duplicates, or prints any representation of information, data, or image, including, but not limited to, any film, filmstrip, photograph, negative, slide, photocopy, videotape, video laser disc, computer hardware, computer software, computer floppy disc, data storage media, CD-ROM, or computer-generated equipment or any other computer-generated image that contains or incorporates in any manner, any film, filmstrip, or any digitally altered or artificial-intelligence-generated matter, with intent to distribute or to exhibit to, or to exchange with, others for commercial consideration, or who offers to distribute, distributes, or exhibits to, or exchanges with, others for commercial consideration, any obscene matter, knowing that the matter depicts a person under 18 years of age personally engaging in or personally simulating sexual conduct, as defined in Section 311.4, or that it contains a digitally altered or artificial-intelligence-generated depiction of what appears to be a person under 18 years of age engaging in such conduct, is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or six years, or by a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), in the absence of a finding that the defendant would be incapable of paying that fine, or by both that fine and imprisonment. (c) (1) Every person who knowingly sends or causes to be sent, or brings or causes to be brought, into this state for sale or distribution, or in this state possesses, prepares, publishes, produces, develops, duplicates, or prints any representation of information, data, or image, including, but not limited to, any film, filmstrip, photograph, negative, slide, photocopy, videotape, video laser disc, computer hardware, computer software, computer floppy disc, data storage media, CD-ROM, or computer-generated equipment or any other computer-generated image that contains or incorporates in any manner, any film, filmstrip, or any digitally altered or artificial-intelligence-generated matter, with intent to distribute or exhibit to, or to exchange with, a person 18 years of age or older, or who offers to distribute, distributes, or exhibits to, or exchanges with, a person 18 years of age or older any matter, knowing that the matter depicts a person under 18 years of age personally engaging in or personally simulating sexual conduct, as defined in Section 311.4, or any obscene matter that contains a digitally altered or artificial-intelligence-generated depiction of what appears to be a person under 18 years of age engaging in such conduct, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, or by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison. If a person has been previously convicted of a violation of this subdivision, they are guilty of a felony. (2) It is not necessary to prove commercial consideration in order to establish a violation of this subdivision. (3) It is not necessary to prove that matter that depicts a real person under 18 years of age is obscene or lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value in order to establish a violation of this subdivision. (d) (1) Every person who knowingly sends or causes to be sent, or brings or causes to be brought, into this state for sale or distribution, or in this state possesses, prepares, publishes, produces, develops, duplicates, or prints any representation of information, data, or image, including, but not limited to, any film, filmstrip, photograph, negative, slide, photocopy, videotape, video laser disc, computer hardware, computer software, computer floppy disc, data storage media, CD-ROM, or computer-generated equipment or any other computer-generated image that contains or incorporates in any manner any film, filmstrip, or any digitally altered or artificial-intelligence-generated matter, with intent to distribute or exhibit to, or to exchange with, a person under 18 years of age, or who offers to distribute, distributes, or exhibits to, or exchanges with, a person under 18 years of age any matter, knowing that the matter depicts a person under 18 years of age personally engaging in or personally simulating sexual conduct, as defined in Section 311.4, or any obscene matter that contains a digitally altered or artificial-intelligence-generated depiction of what appears to be a person under 18 years of age engaging in such conduct, is guilty of a felony. (2) It is not necessary to prove commercial consideration in order to establish a violation of this subdivision. (3) It is not necessary to prove that matter that depicts a real person under 18 years of age is obscene or lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value in order to establish a violation of this subdivision. (e) Subdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive, do not apply to the activities of law enforcement and prosecuting agencies in the investigation and prosecution of criminal offenses, to legitimate medical, scientific, or educational activities, or to lawful conduct between spouses. (f) This section does not apply to matter that depicts a legally emancipated child under 18 years of age or to lawful conduct between spouses when one or both are under 18 years of age. (g) 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. Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 241, Sec. 23. (SB 857) Effective January 1, 2026.