Full Breakdown
UK Bans Pornography Depicting Strangulation, Incest and Child Role-Play
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New Restrictions Take Effect on 6 November
From 6 November it will be illegal in England and Wales to possess or publish online pornography that shows choking or suffocation, sexual activity between relatives, or adults role-playing as children under 16. The measures amend the Crime and Policing Bill, which was enacted in April, to extend criminal liability to these categories of content.
Review Findings and Legislative Basis
The ban follows a government-commissioned review led by Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin in 2025. The review documented a “rife” presence of choking scenes on popular porn sites and cited a case of a 14-year-old boy asking a teacher how to choke girls during sex. It warned that imitation of such behaviour could have “devastating consequences.” While non-fatal strangulation is already an offence when non-consensual, its depiction online had not previously been criminalised.
Official Statements
Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones stressed that the policy is not about “criminalising harmless sexual preferences” but about preventing material that can shape young people’s ideas of a healthy relationship.
Advocacy Group Support
The End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW) welcomed the ban.
Verbatim Quotes
- “If you've got this material, delete it. If you're sharing it, stop,” — Alex Davies-Jones, justice minister