Since 1857, a series of obscenity laws known as the Obscene Publications Acts have governed what can be published. There have been several United Kingdom Acts of Parliament of this name:
Obscene Publications Act 1857
Obscene Publications Act 1959
Obscene Publications Act 1964
Of these, only the 1959 and 1964 acts are still in force in the UK, as amended by more recent legislation. They define the legal bounds of obscenity in the UK, and are used to enforce the censorship of obscene material.
Note: Irish law diverged from UK law in 1929, replacing the OPA 1857 with a new Irish act: see Irish censorship law.
Important events in the recent history of the Obscene Publications Act:
This act makes it an offence to publish, whether for gain or not, any article whose effect, taken as a whole, is such, in the view of the court, to tend to "deprave and corrupt" those likely to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it.
An Act to amend the law relating to the publication of obscene matter; to provide for the protection of literature; and to strengthen the law concerning pornography.
The Act is not available to download from the HMSO, but it can be purchased in hard copy from them, for more information, please visit the HMSO web-site.
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