Effective 01 Jan 2017, see footnote

573.100. Telephones, obscene or indecent commercial messages, direct or electronic recording, penalties, exceptions. — 1. As used in this section, the following terms mean:

(1) "Indecent", language or material that depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs;

(2) "Obscene", any comment, request, suggestion or proposal is obscene if:

(a) Applying contemporary community standards, its predominant appeal is to prurient interest in sex; and

(b) Taken as a whole with respect to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, it depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way; and

(c) Taken as a whole, it lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. Obscenity shall be judged with reference to its impact upon ordinary adults.

2. A person commits the offense of obscene or indecent commercial messaging if he or she, by means of a telephone communication for commercial purposes, makes directly or by means of an electronic recording device, any comment, request, suggestion, or proposal which is obscene or indecent; or knowingly permits any telephone or telephone facility connected to a local exchange telephone under such person's control to be used for obscene or indecent commercial messaging. Any person who makes any such comment, request, suggestion, or proposal shall be in violation of the provisions of this section regardless of whether such person placed or initiated the telephone call.

3. The offense of obscene or indecent commercial messaging is a class A misdemeanor unless such person has been found guilty of the same offense committed at a different time, in which case the violation is a class E felony. For purposes of this subsection, each violation constitutes a separate offense.

4. The prohibitions and penalties contained herein are not applicable to a telecommunications company as defined in section 386.020 over whose facilities prohibited communications may be transmitted.

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(L. 1989 H.B. 225 § 2, A.L. 2014 S.B. 491)

Effective 1-01-17