The proceedings began with arguments from the defence regarding the obscenity charge. They argued that the legal test to determine whether or not an image is obscene is whether "it has an effect which is to tend to deprave and corrupt" any person who is exposed to it, and that the prosecution has not provided any evidence that the image passes the test. They argued that Section 292, under which Amos Yee is being charged, "is targeted at peddlers and purveyors of pornography" and that it is "wholly inapt to describe the mischief (if any) in this case". The prosecution had argued that Yee's own comments showed his intention to "corrupt and deprave", but the defence countered that a person cannot be convicted ipse dixit. They also argued that the image was "not a pornographic image, designed to arouse".
