A person commits an offense by knowingly possessing, accessing with intent to view, or promoting certain lewd visual material depicting a child under 18.
Sec. 43.262. POSSESSION OR PROMOTION OF LEWD VISUAL MATERIAL DEPICTING CHILD. (a) In this section: (1) "Promote" and "sexual conduct" have the meanings assigned by Section 43.25. (2) "Visual material" has the meaning assigned by Section 43.26. (b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly possesses, accesses with intent to view, or promotes visual material that: (1) depicts the lewd exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of an unclothed, partially clothed, or clothed child who is younger than 18 years of age at the time the visual material was created; (2) appeals to the prurient interest in sex; and (3) has no serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. (b-1) For purposes of conduct prohibited under Subsection (b), visual material to which that conduct applies includes: (1) a depiction of a child: (A) who is recognizable as an actual person by the person's face, likeness, or other distinguishing characteristic, such as a unique birthmark or other recognizable feature; and (B) whose image as a child younger than 18 years of age was used in creating, adapting, or modifying the visual material, including computer-generated visual material that was created, adapted, or modified using an artificial intelligence application or other computer software; or (2) a depiction of a child, created using an artificial intelligence application or other computer software, that to a reasonable person is virtually indistinguishable from an actual child younger than 18 years of age. (c) An offense under this section is a state jail felony, except that the offense is: (1) a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person has been previously convicted one time of an offense under this section or Section 43.26; and (2) a felony of the second degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person has been previously convicted two or more times of an offense under this section or Section 43.26. (d) It is not a defense to prosecution under this section that the depicted child consented to the creation of the visual material. Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 350 (H.B. 1810), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2017. Amended by: Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 730 (H.B. 2700), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2023. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 847 (S.B. 1621), Sec. 6, eff. September 1, 2025.