Online pornography depicting strangulation or incestuous relationships will be banned from 6 November, the government has announced.
From that date, it will be illegal to possess or publish porn that shows strangulation or suffocation. It will also be illegal to possess or publish content that depicts sexual activity between people who are related, or shows adults role-playing as children under 16.
Review Led to New Rules
The new rules follow a review of porn regulation carried out in 2025. The review found that depictions of choking were 'rife' on popular porn sites and had helped normalise the act among young people.
Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin, who led the review, said the news came 'not a moment too soon'.
She told the Press Association that the change in law would 'send the unequivocal signal' to companies that host and facilitate porn. It would also send that signal to wider society, she said, that 'extreme and violent content that encourages real-life harm is not acceptable'.
The independent review was commissioned by the government of former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. It cited an account of a 14-year-old boy asking a teacher how to choke girls during sex. It warned that people imitating such behaviour 'may face devastating consequences'.
What the Law Covers
Non-fatal strangulation is already an offence if a person does not consent. However, depictions of it online are not currently illegal.
Amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, which became law in April, were designed to bring such content within the legislation. They will make these acts criminal offences in England and Wales.
Penalties differ by offence. Publication of the content carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. According to the government, publishing can include uploading, posting or otherwise making the content available to someone online.
Possession can include keeping an image on a phone, computer or in cloud storage. Anyone found with images showing sexual activity involving a person pretending to be under 16 could face up to three years in prison after 6 November. Those found with images depicting strangulation, suffocation or penetrative sexual activity between certain relatives could face up to two years.
Porn showing sex between step or foster relations, where one person is pretending to be under 18, will also be covered by the new offences.
Government and Experts Respond
Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said the law is not about 'criminalising harmless sexual preferences'.
She said that 'porn can shape what people think a healthy relationship looks like, especially young people'. Content that 'normalises, or even glorifies' violence against women can 'blur the line with what is acceptable in real life', she added.
'If you've got this material, delete it. If you're sharing it, stop,' Davies-Jones said. 'It's not as harmless as you may think, and after 6 November, it is criminal.'
Durham University law professor Clare McGlynn, who has previously warned that widely available extreme content normalises sexual violence, welcomed the laws taking full effect. She told the BBC that this is 'a potential turning point'.
McGlynn said questions remain about how quickly tech platforms and regulators will act to remove and limit the spread of violating material. 'While these are criminal offences, this is not about prosecuting individuals, but transforming the online pornographic landscape and that requires the platforms and regulator to act,' she added.
