The Rada again proposes to decriminalize adult content: a new bill has been registered

The Verkhovna Rada has registered a new bill No. 15294, which provides for the decriminalization of adult content and at the same time strengthens responsibility for crimes against children. The initiators of the document state that its goal is to eliminate corruption schemes around the persecution of authors of adult content and clearly distinguish crimes against children and the activities of adults by mutual consent.

This was reported by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak.

The Rada is preparing a third attempt at decriminalization

According to Zheleznyak, after the parliament did not support the previous bill on the decriminalization of pornography, the authors held additional consultations with various factions and deputy groups.

The new document:

retains the norms on the decriminalization of adult content;

significantly strengthens the punishment for the production and distribution of child pornography;

has the support of representatives of almost all factions of the parliament.

“There will be responsibility for real crimes. For the actions of adults among adults, we are removing the Middle Ages and the feeding trough for unscrupulous law enforcement officers,” Zheleznyak said.

The bill was supported by 45 deputies

According to the People’s Deputy, the document has already been signed by 45 people’s deputies, including:

representatives of various political forces;

the leadership of the parliament;

chairmen of committees.

The initiators emphasize that they were able to find a compromise even despite different political and ideological views.

The authors talk about the fight against corruption schemes

Supporters of the bill claim that the current criminalization of adult content actually creates conditions for abuse by individual law enforcement officers.

One of the arguments is the situation with the OnlyFans platform. According to official data:

in 2023, Ukrainians earned more than $131 million on the platform;

due to the risk of criminal prosecution, only about 5% of income is declared.

The parliament believes that the new law will allow:

to legalize the market;

to increase tax revenues;

to focus criminal prosecution specifically on crimes against children.

The final decision is still ahead

This is the third attempt to legislatively regulate the issue of decriminalizing adult content in Ukraine.

Previously, the Verkhovna Rada did not support the previous version of the bill, but the authors of the new document hope that this time the parliament will be able to find enough votes to pass it.