Online Pornography Depicting Strangulation and Incest to Be Banned From 6 November

Pornography depicting strangulation, suffocation, incest or an adult impersonating a child under 16 will be illegal to possess or publish in England and Wales from 6 November.

What the new pornography rules will ban

The new rules will make it a criminal offence to possess or publish pornography that depicts:

• Strangulation or suffocation
• Sexual acts between related people
• An adult impersonating a child under 16

The changes follow a 2025 review of pornography regulations, which found that depictions of choking were “pervasive” on popular pornography websites and could help normalise the act among young people.

Review warned of risks to young people

Baroness Gabby Bertin, the Conservative member who led the review, said the changes “couldn’t come any sooner”.

She told the Press Association that the new rules would “send a clear signal” to companies that host and promote pornography, as well as to wider society, that “extreme and violent content that promotes real-life harm will not be tolerated”.

Her independent inquiry, commissioned by the government of former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, cited a 14-year-old boy who asked his teacher how to strangle a girl during sex.

The review warned that people who imitate such behaviour “could face devastating consequences”.

Strangulation content will become a criminal offence

Non-fatal strangulation is already a crime unless someone consents, but depicting it online is not currently illegal.

Amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, passed in April, were designed to ensure that such content is covered by the law and becomes a criminal offence in England and Wales.

Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones said the changes were not intended to “criminalise harmless sexual preferences”.

However, she said pornography can shape people’s understanding of healthy relationships, particularly among young people. Content that “normalises or glamorises” violence against women can “blur the line between what is acceptable in real life”, she said.

“If you have this material, please delete it. If you are sharing it, please stop,” Davies-Jones added.

“It’s not as harmless as you think and it will become a crime after 6 November.”