Legal issues importing physical eroge to Norway

[Dergonu]

EDIT:

Quote

So I just finished speaking to someone about this, and I figured I'd bump this thread in case someone else from Norway or a country with similar laws ask themselves the same question.

The very simple answer, which most people probably saw coming, is: don't buy physical games like this if you live in a country like Norway.

 

The chances of the games actually being discovered and instantly branded as illegal are very slim, however generally speaking, material such as Euhporia and BBH are indeed put under a category of illegal porn in Norway, and CAN lead to punishment, either in the form of fines or something more serious. The chance of games like this being treated the same way as actual, "real" illegal pornography is very small, but it is there, and if the more strict people in the justice system finds out, well... RIP.

Even digital versions of the games can be handled in the same way, though that is even less likely. Point is, actually importing games like these is pretty much playing with fire.

You probably wont get caught, but if you DO get caught, then it's your own ass on the line.

 

The actual law puts the illegal porn into two categories, nr.1 being an absolute no no, including sex with children, corpses and animals, and the other category is rape, voilence etc, which is more of a "you really shouldn't own or watch this, and we CAN punish you for it." 

There are "loopholes" I guess, which is roleplay, completely fictional material etc, but even then, the law itself is very vague, and doesn't specify whether it is talking about fictional material or not, and so once again it will come down to how strict the people who are handling your case are. Making a solid defense would be kind of hard, and it would be mostly based around exactly what the material is used for, (for example, the fact that it is in a game surrounded by real plot might make it a bit less serious.) 

 

Anyways, yeah, that's about it. I am at least glad that I have this sorted out, so I know exactly what is and isn't legal in Norway for the future.

So with the release of the physical Euphoria and Beat blades haruka, I am super excited. (Yes that's right, someone were actually happy about the announcements. ) I was about to pre-order both, when something occured to me. 

Norway does have a law that says sexualized loli content is a no no. But when it comes to content like the stuff in Euphoria and BBH, (rape, mindbreak, violence, etc), I don't really know if that could cause any legal issues. I looked around a bit, but I wasn't able to find any detailed information on it anywhere online, despite hours of searching. The only thing I could find was that UPS wont deliver pornographic material, but ... that's it really.

(I kinda suck at this sort of stuff.)

I contacted Mangagamer, asking exactly how the physical editions of the games would look, hoping the H content wouldn't really be visible. They replied fast, and the games do have flippable covers, which will make seeing the worst of the H require detailed inspection, but I really don't know how customs will go about checking the package.

(For those interested, here is how the Euphoria physical edition will look: WARNING, NSFW! Front, Back)

 

And so I thought maybe someone on this forum would be able to help out a little.

 

Does anyone here know ... well, anything that could help me figure out if buying and importing these games would cause any legal problems?

Like, any info helps.

I just don't want to end up in jail for buying a Japanese porn game

[WinterfuryZX]

LOL they could have made tamer package, I never imported anything that explicit, sorry.

[Down]

Non-loli content is less likely to be an issue.

Regarding customs, you should  try to fish around the internet regarding how they deal with packages in your country. Your package may get stopped for taxing, but that doesn't mean they'll open it - more than often they'll just look at the invoice or ask you for one. And I doubt anime titties are very visible through X-ray inspection.

[Nosebleed]

If the box is sealed with some wrapping, they usually won't tear that wrapping open. But they can (at least here they do) open the box the package comes in to check if there's no dangerous goods inside (by dangerous I'm talking about guns and stuff).

Usually the procedure is: If there's nothing explicit on sight, then it probably passes.

So idieally the CD box is wrapped with non-transparent material. If it's not then you might want to re-consider. But like Down said, ideally you want to know how exactly do they handle packages.

 

[WinterfuryZX]

It could be potentially mistaken for pedopornography even if there is no trace of what we perceive as loli on the back.

[Narcosis]

This isn't really explicit, at least not the basic cover. By standards, it should pass without any issues; that is, unless someone has a stick up in their arse. Be glad you don't live in Great Britain, Sweden or a couple other west European countries.

[SilverLi]

I don't know the rules in Norway but I am actually researching the possibility of buying the Euphoria physical to Sweden. We shouldn't be that different in laws and rules. But I don't know.

[Formlose Gestalt]

In Germany, if customs stop your packet, they send you a mail ordering you to visit your correspondent (nearest) custom office where you have to open the packet under supervision of a custom officer. That much I know from my own experience and I am sure that it is great fun when you order an eroge.

I myself never ordered an eroge, but there is the story of one guy who ordered from Jlist (He apparently ordered Come See Me Tonight 1+2, My Girlfriend is the President and School Days.) and got his VNs confiscated in order to check if they violate german laws. In the end (after weeks/months) he did get his games, and apparently nobody really checked them (i.e. played them), but the conclusion I got from this story, that I don't bother with physical editions. The chance that they get confiscated seems to be real, at least here in Germany, and I have absolutely no interest to test what they define as legal according to our laws and what not.

For me that is not a huge problem, because I can do without physical edition and I am not interested in nukige or loli content, but for others I am sure that uncertainty sucks.

Okay that's what I know about the situation here in Germany. I can of course say nothing about the situation in Norway, but that is an example how a fellow European country handles the situation.

 

Here is the Link to the blog entry where the guy tells his story if that helps anybody. (Language is german):

http://anime-otakus.de/live/zollfreuden/

 

EDIT: But maybe someone here knows something about the situtation in germany first hand, and can tell about it. Would be interesting to hear.

 

[Kawasumi]

52 minutes ago, Narcosis said:

This isn't really explicit, at least not the basic cover. By standards, it should pass without any issues; that is, unless someone has a stick up in their arse. Be glad you don't live in Great Britain, Sweden or a couple other west European countries.

one of my friends on discord orders eroge and he lives in sweden, never had a problem lol

[Suzu Fanatic]

I personally would not risk it. Obviously it depends on country, and how lax/harsh customs is - but if you are not 100% sure if it is safe, then it's not worth tempting fate. Despite what some have said above, there are times customs will do a thorough check of the package and its contents.

[Dergonu]

I looked around, but was unable to find any informative page on how customs handle packages here. No articles, no threads, nothing major on the customs webiste.

Will think about it before I do anything. Maybe I'll try to get in contact with someone who can check these things a bit more thoroughly for me. (.. Who the fuck would I contact for something like that? A lawyer?.. )

I tried literally looking it up in Norway's laws, but dear lord, reading that thing made me want to jump out the window.

 

I have already bought a couple of physical games in the past, and that went fine, but considering the contents in Euphoria and BBH, I just want to be extra careful.

[Suzu Fanatic]

12 minutes ago, Dergonu said:

I looked around, but was unable to find any informative page on how customs handle packages here. No articles, no threads, nothing major on the customs webiste.

Will think about it before I do anything. Maybe I'll try to get in contact with someone who can check these things a bit more thoroughly for me. (.. Who the fuck would I contact for something like that? A lawyer?.. )

I tried literally looking it up in Norway's laws, but dear lord, reading that thing made me want to jump out the window.

 

I have already bought a couple of physical games in the past, and that went fine, but considering the contents in Euphoria and BBH, I just want to be extra careful.

In some countries, there is a way to submit content for review to determine if it's considered legal - without any penalty or risk of reprisal. Though that could end up having the opposite intended effect, and instigate a ban on the product in question.

[Blanc]

2 hours ago, Narcosis said:

This isn't really explicit, at least not the basic cover. By standards, it should pass without any issues; that is, unless someone has a stick up in their arse. Be glad you don't live in Great Britain, Sweden or a couple other west European countries.

I live in UK I can't import it?

[Clephas]

If you know someone in a more lenient zone of the EU, you could get them to take it for you, then send it to you by ground mail.  That's if you feel you could trust them.  To be honest, one of the most annoying parts about setting up the route by which my VNs arrive at my house was setting it up so that it went from the port by ground rather than air, since there is little to no customs involved once it gets past the port authority. 

[Nosebleed]

Check your postal office's section on forbidden items and how they handle them, that's where I found this information.

They will never play the game obviously, that's why I said all that matters is what they see on the cover. It also depends greatly on who's checking the package, but really if it's not a gun or drugs, unless there's some crazy precedent in your country, it's unlikely they will bother much with your package. They probably won't even take it out of the box, they'll just open the box to see what's inside and if it matches the description on the invoice.

And you probably won't go to jail either way (unless the game is classified as child pornography in your country I guess). Worst case scenario is they dispose the item. My uncle was caught mporting illegal pharmaceuticals and he didn't go to jail, they simply disposed of the package.

[Clephas]

To be honest, the reason I only buy downloads directly when it comes to VNs (EDIT:I use a proxy for physical releases - in the original sense of the word) is because of those issues with customs.  For better or worse, customs at airports are a lot stricter than ones for ports these days... as long as the explosives materials inspection is passed, then the likelihood of them actually opening your package is astronomically low.  Airmail on the other hand...

[Nosebleed]

It's true there is always SOME risk, and they might even arbitrarily call you to prove you paid for that item (see The Journey for Salami), but from my experience, at least in Portugal, customs doesn't care that much about what's in the package, they mostly care about the information on the invoice.

But if you really can't find much info, and if Norway really has explicit laws on this type of content, you might want to reconsider.

[Clephas]

Really, the safest thing to do is stick with downloads for the extreme stuff and only go for physical with the tame stuff...

[Narcosis]

8 minutes ago, Clephas said:

Really, the safest thing to do is stick with downloads for the extreme stuff and only go for physical with the tame stuff...

Where's the joy in that, though

[Kawasumi]

1 minute ago, Narcosis said:

Where's the joy in that, though

gotta live a little you know  

[Suzu Fanatic]

Just now, Kawasumi said:

gotta live a little you know  

Says the young and invincible

[Blanc]

If the description of the product on the page says nothing about child pornography then don't worry.

Tell them you didn't know lol sorry but you are allowed to not know what is in the VN since you are buying it LMAO.

Porn is not illegal... bondage is not illegal etc. so it should be fine.

I live in UK did you know it is illegal to save a erotic or hentai picture of a anime loli on your PC?

[sanahtlig]

I did what I normally do when I want the answer to a question: I consulted Wikipedia.

The relevant entry is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pornography_in_Europe#Norway

Quote

 

Norway[edit]
In Norway, hardcore material was illegal for years de jure to distribute, or sell, but legal to possess. Production, however, was not explicitly illegal, thus both photo and movie shoots occurred. One could acquire pornography abroad, on the Internet, or via satellite TV. Illegal porn shops also existed, especially in larger cities. To satisfy legal requirements, editors of erotic magazines, domestic TV channels, and cable TV obscured sexual organs in activity using black rectangles and the like. After the Norwegian Supreme Court unanimously acquitted a former magazine editor on 7 December 2005 for publishing unobscured hardcore pornography in 2002, it became understood that printed hardcore pornography was no longer illegal. Pornographic magazines and movies were introduced in general stores in 2006. Regular and cable TV tend to abide by the old standards, seeing that edited TV is regulated by a separate law and thus is not affected by the Supreme Court decision. Video-on-demand, however, is not regulated by the TV laws, and, thus, pornography is legal to order.

The depiction of illegal sexual activities, including those involving children, animals, necrophilia, rape, violence, or the use of force, remains illegal.[28][29][30]

 

I'd recommend not trying to import this.  Buy it digitally.  I didn't check the sources listed in that last line (they look like they're in Norwegian), so that's the next step if you want to continue investigating.

[Suzu Fanatic]

Just now, Blanc said:

If the description of the product on the page says nothing about child pornography then don't worry.

Tell them you didn't know lol sorry but you are allowed to not know what is in the VN since you are buying it LMAO.

Porn is not illegal... bondage is not illegal etc. so it should be fine.

 

That is seriously flawed advice. Ignorance is not a escape from possible laws.

[Blanc]

4 minutes ago, Suzu Fanatic said:

 

That is seriously flawed advice. Ignorance is not a escape from possible laws.

It worked many many times in my life. I am fine without any criminal records. The website also allows shipping to the country so obviously you can always say they allowed it.

Also it is not ignorance, there is nothing telling you that you have to read more than the product description. If the product description says nothing about child pornography there is no way of you knowing that it would be in it. You don't have to research the game, you can look at the description and buy it... that is why they are mostly there.

To put it into realistic context if I bought a Toshiba laptop and read the description... it came with child pornography on there that was not specified but all the models had it... I would just say it was not in the description therefore it was put there without it being told to me. I read the product description and nowhere I was aware that it had child pornography. There is no law saying ''Research the product in wikipedia and countless of other websites before buying''. This way you could order a phone but get child porn and what... be accused as a sex offender? No you wouldn't the description said it is a phone. Maybe we should just all stop buying anything on the internet in case it comes as child porn.

I heard people getting child porn by accident and they did not get labelled as sex offenders as they explained their situation and that it was not specified.

That is all, I made my point replying to you will be useless and pointless and I have better things to do with my time.