UK Bans Porn Depicting Strangulation and Incest from 6 November

Key facts

• From 6 November, it will be illegal to possess or publish porn depicting strangulation, suffocation, incest, or adults role-playing as children under 16 in England and Wales.
• The ban follows a 2025 review that found choking depictions were 'rife' on popular porn sites and had helped normalise the act among young people.
• The review was commissioned by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government and headed by Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin.
• Amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, which became law in April, sought to ensure such content would be captured by legislation.
• Maximum penalties: five years' imprisonment for publication; three years for possessing images of sexual activity involving a person pretending to be under 16; two years for possessing images depicting strangulation, suffocation, or penetrative sexual activity between certain relatives.
• Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said the change is not about 'criminalising harmless sexual preferences' but warned porn can shape perceptions of healthy relationships.
• Durham University law professor Clare McGlynn welcomed the laws taking full effect, calling it 'a potential turning point' and 'a line in the sand'.
• Non-fatal strangulation is already an offence if someone does not consent, but its depiction online was not previously illegal.