Has Germany decriminalized the possession, purchase and distribution of child pornography?

Law:

The German parliament has voted to decriminalize the possession, purchase and distribution of child pornography.

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A viral claim circulating on social media in May 2024 stated that Germany had “decriminalized” possession of child pornography. Videos and posts on TikTok, X and Instagram fueled the controversy, leading to widespread outrage over the alleged new rule.

In fact, Germany has not decriminalized child pornography, but instead voted to lower criminal penalties for possession of child pornography. We have therefore rated this claim as “Mostly False” due to the nuance and misinformation surrounding the topic.

On May 16, 2024, the Bundestag, Germany’s federal parliament, adopted a draft law amending the minimum penalties for possession, acquisition and distribution of child pornography. Previously, possession of child porn was punishable by at least one year in prison. The new regulations reclassified possession, acquisition and distribution as misdemeanors, reducing the minimum penalty to three to six months. According to the Bundestag, “Crimes regulated in Art. 184b of the Penal Code will therefore be classified as misdemeanors, not crimes. The adjustment was intended to allow for a more proportionate sentence, particularly in cases where the perpetrators are minors or where the circumstances may justify a lower sentence.

Social media has played a significant role in spreading sensational claims about this bill. Some posts misinterpreted the legislative changes to suggest complete decriminalization of possession of child pornography. For example, a TikTok video by @purepower34 and an X post by journalist Shaykh Sulaiman, which had over 526,000 views at the time of writing, suggested that Germany now allows the possession of child porn without any legal consequences. According to Sulaiman’s post: “This action is praised by the ‘pedophile rights’ group, which has additionally proposed lowering the age of consent to 12.”

The new bill introduced more precise definitions of individual crimes related to child abuse. It was intended to distinguish between active perpetrators of violence against children and those in possession of inappropriate material but without direct involvement in molestation. Legislative changes also place emphasis on proportional punishment. Rather than decriminalizing possession, the law establishes different levels of penalties depending on the seriousness of the offense and the context in which the material was possessed.

The Bundestag clarified this “such cases were particularly common among parents and teachers of older children and adolescents who found child pornography materials in their possession and passed them on to other parents, teachers or school administrators to inform them about the problem.”

Officials and legal experts in Germany explained that the new law aims to ensure that penalties more fit crimes, distinguishing between different levels of offenses to better allocate legal resources and highlight the most serious cases. According to the Bundestag press release of March 2024:

The federal government views the classification of felonies as misdemeanors as an effective way to appropriately and flexibly deal with numerous juvenile offenders. “Here again, the individuals involved are not typically acting out of sexual arousal by child pornography content, but rather out of a drive typical of an adolescent’s stage of development, such as naivety, curiosity, a desire for adventure, or a desire to impress,” it says.

The media reported on the legislative changes. AP News explained that Germany is refining its legal approach to ensure proportionality in adjudicating individual cases, but is not decriminalizing the behavior. The previous law, which entered into force in July 2021, provided that a person who “distributes child pornography content or makes it available to the general public” will be punished by imprisonment from one to 10 years.

The European Conservative clarified the intentions of the legislation, but still described it as “decriminalization”.

In Germany, downgrading a crime from a crime to a misdemeanor means that it is still illegal, but its severity and associated penalties are reduced (the German word “Verbrechen”, which generally means “crime”, refers more specifically to offenses roughly corresponding to offenses under US law). More serious crimes are punishable by at least one year in prison, while misdemeanors may have more lenient penalties and may include fines or shorter prison terms.

Downgrading a crime to a misdemeanor in Germany is not the same as decriminalization. Decriminalization means that the act is no longer considered illegal and usually does not result in any legal penalties. However, if a crime is reclassified as a misdemeanor, the conduct remains illegal and punishable, but the legal system can apply a more proportionate response in less serious cases. In the context of possession of child pornography, despite the reduction in the minimum penalty, it remains an illegal act with serious legal consequences in Germany.

After the Bundestag has adopted the draft law, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier must now approve it and publish it in BundesgesetzblattOr Federal Law Gazette to enter into force. Steinmeier, a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, refused to sign only one bill when he was president. In 2020, Steinmeier withheld his signature on the “Hate Speech Act” due to constitutional concerns. He informed the Bundestag of his willingness to sign the agreement if it was amended accordingly within a reasonable time. He ultimately signed the amended bill in April 2021.

In summary, the claim that Germany has “decriminalized” possession of child pornography is mostly false. While the country has indeed passed legislation to influence how such cases are handled, it has not removed legal penalties for possessing (or obtaining or distributing) child pornography. The new law focuses on proportionate sentencing and better distinguishes between different levels of crime, but the acquisition, possession of iddistribution remain illegal and punishable.

Snopes has written about German law before, including the mostly false claim that the nation has banned pork in school cafeterias because it offends Muslim immigrants and the false claim that X was fined $30 billion for violating hate speech laws in Germany.

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