Obscene Publications Act 1973, restriction on publishing an obscene article to a minor
Obscene Publications Act 1973 (Bermuda), 1973:48, s. 3 (offences involving obscene articles)
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
In force.
An adult content age verification (AV) rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 7 September 2026.
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Section 3(1)(d) makes it an offence to publish an obscene article to, or in the presence of, a person under the age of sixteen years. "Publishes" is defined to include distributing, circulating, selling, letting on hire, giving or lending a thing, or showing, playing or projecting a thing containing matter to be looked at or a record.
The same section separately bars importing an obscene article, publicly publishing one, or having one for publication for gain, and section 2(3) deems a thing obscene if it is child abusive material or child pornography within the meaning of Part X of the Criminal Code. A defendant is not convicted if they prove they had not examined the article and had no reasonable cause to suspect it was obscene.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
Publishing an obscene article to, or in the presence of, a person under sixteen (section 3(1)(d)), and the other section 3(1) offences (importing, publicly publishing, or possessing for gain an obscene article), are each liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for twelve months or a fine of $5,000, or both, and on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for two years or a fine at the discretion of the court.
Penalty structure
Section 3 caps a summary-conviction fine at $5,000 (twelve months' imprisonment); on conviction on indictment the fine is at the discretion of the court (uncapped) with imprisonment capped at two years.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- 7 September 2026
- Currency
- BMD
- Fixed cap
- 5,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Bermuda Police Service; prosecution requires the Director of Public Prosecutions' consent
What it reaches
Obligation class
Age verification, Prohibition
When LexLint raises it
publishes_adult_content