MICHIGAN STATE OBSCENITY & LIBRARY/SCHOOL FILTERING STATUTES
(Last Updated Summer 2012)
MCLS § 752.361
Preceding § 752.361
AN ACT to define and prohibit the possession or dissemination of obscene material under certain circumstances; to prohibit conduct related thereto; to provide penalties; to prohibit local units of government from enacting or enforcing any law, ordinance, or rule pertaining to matters under this act; and to repeal certain acts and parts of acts.
MCLS § 752.361. Meanings of words and phrases.
●Sec. 1. For the purposes of this act, the words and phrases in sections 2 to 4 have the meanings ascribed to them in those sections.
§ 752.362. Definitions; C to O.
●Sec. 2.
○(1) "Contemporary community standards" means the customary limits of candor and decency in this state at or near the time of the alleged violation of this act.
○(2) "Disseminate" means to manufacture, sell, lend, rent, publish, exhibit, or lease to the public for commercial gain or to offer or agree to manufacture, sell, lend, rent, publish, exhibit, or lease to the public for commercial gain.
○(3) "Knowledge of content and character" means having general knowledge of the nature and character of the material involved. Knowledge of content and character may be proven by direct evidence or by circumstantial evidence, or both.
○(4) "Material" means anything tangible that is capable of being used or adapted to arouse prurient interest, whether through the medium of reading, observation, sound, or in any other manner, including but not limited to, anything printed or written, any book, magazine, newspaper, pamphlet, picture, drawing, pictorial representation, motion picture, photograph, video tape, video disk, film, transparency, slide, audiotape, audiodisk, computer tape, or any other medium used to electronically produce or reproduce images on a screen, or any mechanical, chemical, or electronic reproduction. Material includes undeveloped photographs, molds, printing plates, and other latent representational objects whether or not processing or other acts are required to make the content of the material apparent.
○(5) "Obscene" means any material that meets all of the following criteria:
■(a) The average individual, applying contemporary community standards, would find the material, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest.
■(b) The reasonable person would find the material, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
■(c) The material depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way.
§ 752.363. Definitions; P.
●Sec. 3.
○(1) "Person" means an individual, or a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity, or an agent or servant of an individual or legal entity.
○(2) "Prurient interest" means a shameful or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or excretion.
§ 752.364. "Sexual conduct" defined.
●Sec. 4. (1) "Sexual conduct" means 1 or more of the following:
○(a) Representations or descriptions of ultimate sexual acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated.
○(b) Representations or descriptions of masturbation, excretory functions, or a lewd exhibition of the genitals.
■(2) "Simulated" means the explicit depiction or description of any of the types of conduct set forth in the definition of sexual conduct under subsection (1), which creates the appearance of such conduct.
■(3) "Ultimate sexual acts" means sexual intercourse, fellatio, cunnilingus, anal intercourse, or any other intrusion, however slight, of any part of a person's body or of any object into the genital or anal openings of another person's body, or depictions or descriptions of sexual bestiality, sadomasochism, masturbation, or excretory functions.
§ 752.365. Obscenity; elements; misdemeanor; penalty; second or subsequent offense as a felony.
●Sec. 5.
○(1) A person is guilty of obscenity when, knowing the content and character of the material, the person disseminates, or possesses with intent to disseminate, any obscene material.
○(2) Obscenity is a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or by a fine of not more than $100,000.00, or both.
○(3) A person convicted of a second or subsequent offense under this section is guilty of a felony and may be imprisoned for not more than 2 years, and shall be fined not less than $50,000.00 or more than $5,000,000.00. For purposes of this section, an offense is considered a second or subsequent offense if the defendant has previously been convicted under this section or under any similar statute of the United States or of any state.
§ 752.367. Applicability of § 752.365.
●Sec. 7. Section 5 does not apply to the dissemination of obscene material by any of the following:
○(a) An individual who disseminates obscene material in the course of his or her duties as an employee of, or as a member of the board of directors of, any of the following:
■(i) A public or private college, university, or vocational school.
■(ii) A library established by this state or a library established by a county, city, township, village, or other local unit of government or authority or combination of local units of government and authorities or a library established by a community college district.
■(iii) A public or private not for profit art museum that is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code.
○(b) An individual who disseminates obscene material in the course of the individual's employment and does not have discretion with regard to that dissemination or is not involved in the management of the employer.
○(c) Any portion of a business regulated by the federal communications commission.
○(d) A cable television operator that is subject to the communications act of 1934, chapter 652, 48 Stat. 1064.
§ 752.368. Prohibited conduct; violation as misdemeanor; penalty.
●Sec. 8. (1) A person shall not:
○(a) As a condition to a sale, allocation, consignment, or delivery for the resale of any paper, magazine, periodical, book, publication, or other merchandise, require or demand that the purchaser or consignee receive for resale or further commercial distribution any obscene material.
○(b) Deny, revoke, or threaten to deny or revoke a franchise, or impose or threaten to impose any penalty, financial or otherwise, because of the failure or refusal to accept obscene material or material reasonably believed by the purchaser or consignee to be obscene.
■(2) A violation of this section is a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or a fine of not more than $500.00, or both.
§ 752.369. Action by prosecuting attorney or attorney general.
●Sec. 9. A prosecuting attorney or the attorney general may commence and prosecute an action under this act.
§ 752.370. Prohibited law, ordinance, or rules; exceptions.
●Sec. 10.
○(1) A municipality, township, village, city, or an instrumentality thereof shall not enact or enforce any law, ordinance, or rule which regulates, or intends to regulate, any matter covered by this act.
○(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a zoning law, zoning ordinance, or zoning rule.
§ 750.142. Furnishing obscene publications or criminal news to minors.
●Sec. 142. A person who sells, gives away or in any way furnishes to a person under the age of 18 years a book, pamphlet, or other printed paper or other thing, containing obscene language, or obscene prints, pictures, figures or descriptions tending to corrupt the morals of youth, or any newspapers, pamphlets or other printed paper devoted to the publication of criminal news, police reports, or criminal deeds, and a person who shall in any manner hire, use or employ a person under the age of 18 years to sell, give away, or in any manner distribute such books, pamphlets or printed papers, and any person having the care, custody or control of a person under the age of 18 years, who permits him or her to engage in any such employment, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
§ 750.143. Children; exhibition of obscene matter.
●Sec. 143. Exhibition of obscene matter within view of children-Any person who shall exhibit upon any public street or highway, or in any other place within the view of children passing on any public street or highway, any book, pamphlet or other printed paper or thing containing obscene language or obscene prints, figures, or descriptions, tending to the corruption of the morals of youth, or any newspapers, pamphlets, or other printed paper or thing devoted to the publication of criminal news, police reports or criminal deeds, shall on conviction thereof be guilty of a misdemeanor.
§ 722.675. Disseminating sexually explicit matter to minor; felony; penalty.
●Sec. 5. (1) A person is guilty of disseminating sexually explicit matter to a minor if that person does either of the following:
○(a) Knowingly disseminates to a minor sexually explicit visual or verbal material that is harmful to minors.
○(b) Knowingly exhibits to a minor a sexually explicit performance that is harmful to minors.
■(2) A person knowingly disseminates sexually explicit matter to a minor if the person knows both the nature of the matter and the status of the minor to whom the matter is disseminated.
■(3) A person knows the nature of matter if the person either is aware of its character and content or recklessly disregards circumstances suggesting its character and content.
■(4) A person knows the status of a minor if the person either is aware that the person to whom the dissemination is made is under 18 years of age or recklessly disregards a substantial risk that the person to whom the dissemination is made is under 18 years of age.
■(5) Disseminating sexually explicit matter to a minor is a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 2 years or a fine of not more than $10,000.00, or both. In imposing the fine, the court shall consider the scope of the defendant's commercial activity in disseminating sexually explicit matter to minors.
§ 722.676. Persons excepted from MCL 722.675.
●Sec. 6. Section 5 does not apply to the dissemination of sexually explicit matter to a minor by any of the following:
○(a) A parent or guardian who disseminates sexually explicit matter to his or her child or ward unless the dissemination is for the sexual gratification of the parent or guardian .
○(b) A teacher or administrator at a public or private elementary or secondary school that complies with the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1 to 380.1852, and who disseminates sexually explicit matter to a student as part of a school program permitted by law.
○(c) A licensed physician or licensed psychologist who disseminates sexually explicit matter in the treatment of a patient.
○(d) A librarian employed by a library of a public or private elementary or secondary school that complies with the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1 to 380.1852, or employed by a public library, who disseminates sexually explicit matter in the course of that person's employment.
○(e) Any public or private college or university or any other person who disseminates sexually explicit matter for a legitimate medical, scientific, governmental, or judicial purpose.
○(f) A person who disseminates sexually explicit matter that is a public document, publication, record, or other material issued by a state, local, or federal official, department, board, commission, agency, or other governmental entity, or an accurate republication of such a public document, publication, record, or other material.
§ 722.677. Displaying sexually explicit matter to minor; misdemeanor; penalty.
●Sec. 7. (1) A person is guilty of displaying sexually explicit matter to a minor if that person possesses managerial responsibility for a business enterprise selling sexually explicit visual material that visually depicts sexual intercourse or sadomasochistic abuse and is harmful to minors, and that person does either of the following:
○(a) Knowingly permits a minor who is not accompanied by a parent or guardian to view that matter.
○(b) Displays that matter knowing its nature, unless the person does so in a restricted area.
■(2) A person knowingly permits a minor to view visual matter that depicts sexual intercourse or sadomasochistic abuse and is harmful to minors if the person knows both the nature of the matter and the status of the minor permitted to examine the matter.
■(3) A person knows the nature of the matter if the person either is aware of its character and content or recklessly disregards circumstances suggesting its character and content.
■(4) A person knows the status of a minor if the person either is aware that the person who is permitted to view the matter is under 18 years of age or recklessly disregards a substantial risk that the person who is permitted to view the matter is under 18 years of age.
■(5) A person who violates subsection (1) is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 93 days or a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both.
FILTERING LAWS:
§ 397.602. Definitions.
●Sec. 2. As used in this act:
○(a) "Computer" means any connected, directly interoperable or interactive device, equipment, or facility that uses a computer program or other instructions to perform specific operations including logical, arithmetic, or memory functions with or on computer data or a computer program, and that can store, retrieve, alter, or communicate the results of the operations, to a person, computer program, computer, computer system, or computer network.
○(b) "Computer network" means the interconnection of hardwire or wireless communication lines with a computer through remote terminals, or a complex consisting of 2 or more interconnected computers.
○(c) "Computer program" means a series of internal or external instructions communicated in a form acceptable to a computer that directs the functioning of a computer, computer system, or computer network in a manner designed to provide or produce products or results from the computer, computer system, or computer network.
○(d) "Computer system" means a set of related, connected or unconnected, computer equipment, devices, software, or hardware.
○(e) "Device" includes, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, electrochemical, biochemical, hydraulic, optical, or organic object that performs input, output, or storage functions by the manipulation of electronic, magnetic, or other impulses.
○(f) "Harmful to minors" means that term as it is defined in section 4 of 1978 PA 33, MCL 722.674.
○(g) "Internet" means that term as defined in section 230 of title II of the communications act of 1934, chapter 652, 110 Stat. 137, 47 U.S.C. 230.
○(h) "Library" includes a library that is established by the state; a county, city, township, village, school district, or other local unit of government or authority or combination of local units of governments and authorities; a community college district; a college or university; or any private library open to the public.
○(i) "Library record" means a document, record, or other method of storing information retained by a library that contains information that personally identifies a library patron, including the patron's name, address, or telephone number, or that identifies a person as having requested or obtained specific materials from a library. Library record does not include nonidentifying material that may be retained for the purpose of studying or evaluating the circulation of library materials in general.
○(j) "Minor" means an individual who is less than 18 years of age.
○(k) "Obscene" means that term as it is defined in section 2 of 1984 PA 343, MCL 752.362.
○(l) "Sexually explicit matter" means that term as it is defined in section 3 of 1978 PA 33,MCL 722.673.
○(m) "Terminal" means a device used to access the internet or a computer, computer program, computer network, or computer system.
§ 397.606. Restriction of internet access to minors; immunity from liability; exceptions.
●Sec. 6. (1) If a library offers use of the internet or a computer, computer program, computer network, or computer system to the public, the governing body of that library shall adopt and require enforcement of a policy that restricts access to minors by providing the use of the internet or a computer, computer program, computer network, or computer system in 1 of the following ways:
○(a) Both of the following:
■(i) By making available, to individuals of any age, 1 or more terminals that are restricted from receiving obscene matter or sexually explicit matter that is harmful to minors.
■(ii) By reserving, to individuals 18 years of age or older or minors who are accompanied by their parent or guardian, 1 or more terminals that are not restricted from receiving any material.
○(b) By utilizing a system or method that is designed to prevent a minor from viewing obscene matter or sexually explicit matter that is harmful to minors.
■(2) A governing body of a library, member of a governing body of a library, library, or an agent or employee of a governing body of a library or library, is immune from liability in a civil action as provided in section 7 of the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 691.1407.
■(3) This section does not apply to a library established by a community college district, a college or university, or a private library open to the public.
Compiled by Morality In Media. A project of the War on Illegal Pornography
For more information on Obscenity laws, visit