Turkiye: Bill amending Penal Code clarifying scope of crime of obscenity was introduced to Grand National Assembly

On 22 October 2025, the Bill amending the Penal Code, clarifying the scope of the crime of obscenity, was introduced to the Grand National Assembly. The Bill amends Article 226 of the Turkish Penal Code to define the scope of obscenity and regulate the protection of children from pornographic content. It makes it an offence to provide, show, read, or otherwise make pornographic materials accessible to children, and to offer such materials for sale, rent, or distribution, including through advertising. The Bill specifies penalties for producing or distributing pornographic content involving actual children, representations of children, or persons appearing as children, as well as content depicting sexual acts with violence, animals, or deceased human bodies. Publishing or facilitating the dissemination of such material in a manner accessible to children is also subject to penalties. The Bill excludes acts and works considered artistic, cultural, scientific, or expressive from being classified as obscene, and specifies that bodily expression, clothing, dance, and performance art are not treated as pornographic content. It establishes the ranges of imprisonment and judicial fines for violations.