UK Government To Ban Porn Showing Choking and Depicting Incest Starting November

Pornographic content depicting strangulation and incestuous relationships will become illegal in England and Wales from 6 November, with the government introducing tougher penalties for possessing or distributing prohibited material.

The new offences will also cover pornography featuring adults pretending to be children under 16, alongside certain sexual scenarios involving step-relatives and foster-relatives where one person is portrayed as under 18.

The legislation follows an independent review of pornography regulation published in 2025. It found that depictions of choking were 'rife' on popular pornographic websites and warned that repeated exposure could normalise dangerous sexual behaviour among young people.

Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin, who led the review, welcomed the changes, saying the announcement had come 'not a moment too soon'.

She said the law would 'send the unequivocal signal' to pornography platforms and wider society that 'extreme and violent content that encourages real-life harm is not acceptable'.

Commissioned under former prime minister Rishi Sunak's government, the review cited an account of a 14-year-old boy asking a teacher how to choke girls during sex, highlighting concerns about young people imitating behaviour portrayed online.

Possession and Distribution Could Lead to Prison

The new offences were introduced through amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, which became law in April. Non-fatal strangulation is already a criminal offence when carried out without consent, while the new provisions extend restrictions on pornographic depictions of such acts.

Publishing prohibited pornography could carry a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment. This includes uploading, posting or otherwise making the material available online.

Penalties for possession will depend on the content. People possessing images depicting adults pretending to be under 16 could face up to three years in prison. Possession of material showing strangulation, suffocation or certain forms of penetrative sexual activity between relatives could carry a maximum sentence of two years.

The government said possession could include keeping prohibited images on a mobile phone, computer or cloud storage account.

Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said the legislation was not about 'criminalising harmless sexual preferences'.

However, she warned that pornography could influence young people's understanding of healthy relationships. Content that 'normalises, or even glorifies' violence against women could blur the distinction between online depictions and acceptable behaviour in real life.

'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.'

Experts Question Enforcement

Durham University law professor Clare McGlynn welcomed the measures, describing their implementation as a potential turning point in tackling sexually violent pornography.

'This is a potential turning point, the commencement of these laws marking a line in the sand when we decided that we were no longer going to accept the normalisation of sexually violent content in pornography,' she said.

However, McGlynn questioned how quickly technology companies and regulators would act to remove prohibited material and prevent its circulation.

'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.

The new rules represent a significant expansion of restrictions on online pornography in England and Wales. Their effectiveness will depend on how platforms identify, remove and prevent the spread of prohibited content when the offences take effect on 6 November.