An Act introduced to amend the law relating to the publication of obscene matter; to provide for the protection of literature; and to strengthen the law concerning pornography.
The Act applies to television and covers material which is obscene, whether it is in a person's possession or it is published and/or broadcast. The definition of obscene is "likely to deprave and corrupt" the audience for which it is intended and includes not only sexually explicit material but material relating to criminal violence and drug taking. This offence is more likely to apply to research material than material actually transmitted because of the stricter tests relating to harm and offence under the Communications Act 2003 and the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.
