Illegal content
In the context of the Hotline service, ‘illegal content’ primarily refers to material (photos, videos and text) that depicts the sexual abuse and exploitation of children, including material that depicts minors in erotic or pornographic situations.
The use of the term ‘illegal content’ does not refer more broadly to e.g. the divulging of state secrets, breaches of copyright or breaches of the rules of processing personal data.
Illegal activity subject to prosecution
In accordance with Estonian law, producing, possessing, supplying to others, exhibiting and otherwise distributing pictures, films, text or other media¹ that depict the following (§ 178 of the Penal Code) are subject to prosecution:
a) minors younger than 14 in erotic or pornographic situations;
b) minors younger than 18 in pornographic situations;
unless it is done voluntarily on the basis of the mutual consent between the person under the age of eighteen years depicted in the work or in a reproduction thereof, and the person who committed the act, solely for their personal use, without payment of money or any other consideration for it, and their engaging in an act of sexual intercourse or any other act of a sexual nature is not punishable as a criminal offence.
Engaging in sexual intercourse or any other acts of sexual nature with a person under sixteen years of age by an adult person, unless the age difference between the adult person and the person between fourteen and sixteen years of age is not more than five years, is forbidden (Penal Code § 145).
The Penal Code also lists the following offences which may be directly or indirectly related to illegal content (§ 157-2, 178¹, 179 & 214 of the Penal Code):
1) illegal use of the identity (including pictures) of another individual (§ 157-2);
2) agreeing to meet a minor for sexual purposes (§ 178′);
3) sexual enticement of a minor including with pornographic material (§179);
4) extortion (including the use of erotic or pornographic material involving the individual).
Illegal media (pictures, videos, films and text) presented electronically are considered illegal for as long as they remain in existence i.e. possession is also illegal.
Pictures or other media are deemed to be erotic if they depict minors in the nude. In such cases the minor’s genitals may be clearly displayed, but this is not always the case. The minor may be dressed in underwear or clothing unsuited to their age or depicted in a provocative pose or a pose suggestive of a sexual act. As such, the erotic nature of a picture is not unequivocally defined by law; determinations are made in this regard by experts.
Pornography refers to forms of presentation which crudely and blatantly highlight sexual acts in lieu of other interpersonal relations.
According to Estonian laws, human trafficking is forbidden and punishable (Penal code § 133), § 175 of the Penal code sets a punishment for human trafficking with the intent of abusing minors: for influencing a person under 18 to start or continue an act of crime, beg, be involved in prostitution or work in unusual conditions or to act as a model or actor in a pornographic or erotic piece, when there is no misdemeanour set in § 133. It is also punishable to assist an 18-year-old person in aforementioned acts.
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¹ including those created using artificial intelligence
