From 6 November, it will be a criminal offence in England and Wales to possess or publish pornography depicting strangulation, certain incestuous activity or adults role-playing as children under 16. The changes expand criminal law to cover not only acts carried out in real life, but also specified depictions of them online.
What will become illegal?
The new offences cover pornography that:
- depicts strangulation or suffocation;
- shows sexual activity between people who are related, including certain relatives specified by the legislation; or
- shows adults engaging in sexual activity while one person is pretending to be under 16.
The rules also cover sexual activity involving step-relations or foster-relations where one person is pretending to be under 18, according to the government.
The change applies to both publishing and possessing the specified material. Publishing can include uploading, posting or otherwise making it available online. Possession can include keeping an image on a phone, computer or cloud storage.
What are the possible penalties?
For publication, each of the new offences carries a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.
For possession, the maximum penalties depend on the type of material:
- up to three years’ imprisonment for images showing sexual activity involving someone pretending to be under 16;
- up to two years for images depicting strangulation or suffocation; and
- up to two years for images showing penetrative sexual activity between certain relatives.
The source does not say how often these maximum sentences would be imposed or how enforcement will work in individual cases.
Why has the law changed?
The rules follow an independent review of pornography regulation in 2025, led by Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Berrin. The review said depictions of choking were widespread on popular pornographic websites and had helped normalise the act among young people.
Baroness Berrin said the new law should send a clear signal that extreme and violent content encouraging real-life harm is unacceptable. Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said the aim was not to criminalise harmless sexual preferences, but argued that pornography can influence how people, particularly young people, understand healthy relationships.
“It’s not as harmless as you may think, and after 6 November, it is criminal,” Davies-Jones said.
How is this different from the existing law?
Non-fatal strangulation is already an offence when it is carried out without consent. However, the source says that depicting it online is not currently illegal. Amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, which became law in April, were intended to close that gap.
In practical terms, the law distinguishes between the conduct shown in pornography and the act of making or keeping the depiction. A violent act may already be illegal in real life, while possession or publication of an image showing that act has previously not necessarily been a criminal offence under the same rules.
What remains uncertain?
Durham University law professor Clare McGlynn welcomed the law but questioned how quickly technology platforms and regulators would remove or limit the spread of violating material. She said changing the online pornography landscape would require action by both platforms and regulators.
The government has urged people who hold the newly prohibited material to delete it and stop sharing it. The source does not provide further detail on investigations, takedown procedures or how the rules will be applied to material stored outside the United Kingdom.
Source
This explainer is based on information published by BBC News.
