Misleading words or digital images on the Internet
Official text prohibited actmental stateif conditionpenaltylegal term
(a) In General. Whoever knowingly embeds words or digital images into the source code of a website with the intent to deceive a person into viewing material constituting obscenity shall be and imprisoned for not more than 10 years.
(b) Minors. Whoever knowingly embeds words or digital images into the source code of a website with the intent to deceive a minor into viewing material harmful to minors on the Internet shall be and imprisoned for not more than 20 years.
(c) Construction. For the purposes of this section, a word or digital image that clearly indicates the sexual content of the site, such as "sex" or "porn", is not misleading.
(d) Definitions. As used in this section—
(1) the terms "material that is harmful to minors" and "sex" have the meaning given such terms in section 2252B; and
(2) the term "source code" means the combination of text and other characters comprising the content, both viewable and nonviewable, of a web page, including any website publishing language, programming language, protocol or functional content, as well as any successor languages or protocols.
History: (Added Pub. L. 109–248, title VII, §703(a), July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 648.)
Simplified explanation
It is a federal crime to knowingly put words or images in a website's source code (the underlying code of a web page) to trick someone into viewing obscene material. Penalties are higher when the goal is to trick a minor into viewing material harmful to minors.