Federal · Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure

18 U.S.C. § 2252B: Misleading domain names on the Internet

Felony

What this law says, in plain English

Using a misleading domain name to deceive someone into viewing obscene material or to deceive a minor into viewing harmful material is punishable by fines and/or imprisonment up to 2 years (obscenity) or up to 10 years (minors).

Read the full statutory text
Whoever knowingly uses a misleading domain name on the Internet with the intent to deceive a person into viewing material constituting obscenity shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both. Whoever knowingly uses a misleading domain name on the Internet with the intent to deceive a minor into viewing material that is harmful to minors on the Internet shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both. For the purposes of this section, a domain name that includes a word or words to indicate the sexual content of the site, such as “sex” or “porn”, is not misleading. predominantly appeals to a prurient interest of minors; is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable material for minors; and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors. For the purposes of subsection (d), the term “sex” means acts of masturbation, sexual intercourse, or physcial 1 contact with a person’s genitals, or the condition of human male or female genitals when in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal. 1 So in original. Probably should be “physical”.

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.