UK Government Watch

From 6 November 2026, it will be a criminal offence in England and Wales to possess or publish pornographic images that explicitly and realistically depict:

• strangulation or suffocation

• penetrative sexual activity between people who a reasonable person would think are related, or pretending to be related, in a certain way. This includes depictions of close familial relatives such as father and daughter or brother and sister, and certain step and foster relationships where one person is, or is pretending to be, under 18

• sexual activity between at least 2 people where a reasonable person would think at least one person is, or is pretending to be, under 16

The offences only capture pornography that shows people which appear, to a reasonable person, to be real.

The maximum penalty for possession is:

• 2 years' imprisonment for pornography that depicts strangulation or suffocation, or penetrative sexual activity between certain relatives;

• 3 years' imprisonment for pornography depicting sexual activity involving a person who is, or is pretending to be, under 16

The maximum penalty for publication for all offences is 5 years' imprisonment.

There are defences available for these offences. For example, a person may have a defence to the possession and publication offences if they had not seen the image before and did not know, or have cause to suspect, that it was an image covered by the offences.

There is also a defence where the person who possesses or publishes the image directly participated in the act shown in the image and other criteria are met. For the possession offences, there is also a defence where a person was sent the image without asking for it (either themselves, or through a third party) and did not keep it for an unreasonable length of time.

The offences also attract a defence of legitimate reason for possessing or publishing the image.

What we mean by possession and publication

The term possess is not defined in the legislation and will be given its ordinary meaning. Whether a person possesses an image will be a question of fact for the court in each case. However, we consider that possessing an image will generally mean having custody or control of it. This could include where an image is stored on a device, retained in a personal account or cloud, saved in files, or otherwise kept physically or virtually.

Publish is defined in the offences to include giving or making an image available to another person by any means. This could include uploading, posting, sending, sharing or distributing an image. What we mean by strangulation and suffocation

The term strangulation is not defined in the legislation and will be given its ordinary meaning. Whether an image depicts strangulation will be a question of fact for the court in each case. We consider that strangulation generally means one person applying pressure to another person's neck.

The term suffocation is not defined in the legislation and will be given its ordinary meaning. Whether an image depicts suffocation will be a question of fact for the court in each case. We consider that suffocation will generally mean depriving a person of air in a way that affects their ability to breathe. Unlike strangulation, this does not require pressure to the neck. It could, for example, involve covering someone's mouth and nose or compressing their chest.

What you need to do before 6 November 2026

Possession is a continuing act. If you already possess an image covered by these offences, you will need to permanently delete it or otherwise get rid of it before 6 November 2026 to avoid committing an offence once the offences come into force.

Publication can also be a continuing act. If you have uploaded, posted or otherwise made an image covered by these offences available whether online or offline, you will need to remove it and stop making it available to others before 6 November 2026.

If you possess or are continuing to publish an image covered by these offences, you must stop doing so before they come into force. This means if you possess it, you need to permanently delete it or otherwise get rid of it before commencement. If you are continuing to publish it (whether online or offline), you need to remove it and stop publication before commencement.

The government has commissioned British Board of Film Censorship to test the feasibility of censoring online pornography for violent and abusive content.

The pilot by the BBFC will inform ministerial decisions on the most effective way to censor world wide websites potentially resulting in a formal online censor.

A government commissioned review by anti porn peer Gabby Bertin has resulted in new criminal offences for the publication and possession of certain types of online pornography, including strangulation, incest, step-incest and adults role-playing as children.

The laws will come into force by the 6th November. However Baroness Bertin said for the legislation to be effective there also needed to be more proactive regulation, including spot checking and auditing.

Bertin's review had suggested the BBFC audit websites, given its experience monitoring offline pornography for 40 years. They have previously raised concerns about the disparity between online and offline regulation and said they stand ready to expand their remit.

They were awarded a three-month contract for an Audit of Internet Services pilot in July. The pilot includes generating evidence on the availability of certain online pornographic content and evaluating how it could be monitored and reported on at scale given the huge size of the market.

Such a porn censor would need funding for staff to monitor content as well as new technology. Baroness Bertin proposed a model where porn companies as well as social media companies and search engines pay for it.

Bertin suggested that users would appreciate a BBFC censored website saying:

You are then saying to users, we are tried and tested and if you come into our site you won't see illegal content.

She said as well as monitoring for illegal content, an auditor could draw up guidance to address the grey area of material that is not illegal but would be banned in the offline world. It could also do spot checks for age of performers and consent, and help bring down sites that are not behind an age gate or are showing illegal content - either through having its own statutory powers or working alongside Ofcom.

Ofcom has the power to fines sites that don't comply with new age verification requirements that came into force last year as part of the Online Safety Act, but Baroness Bertin said the system is too slow. It should also be noted that only a couple of websites have actually paid Ofcom fines.

The anti porn campaigner and peer Gabby Bertin asked the government about the implementation schedule of the ban on possession and publication of porn featuring strangulation and suffocation.

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 includes a clause that amends the extreme porn provisions of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. It adds the offence:

(67A) Possession or publication of pornographic images of strangulation or suffocation

(1) It is an offence for a person to be in possession of an image if—

(a) the image is pornographic, within the meaning of section 63,

(b) the image portrays, in an explicit and realistic way, a person strangling or suffocating another person, and

(c) a reasonable person looking at the image would think that the persons were real.

(2) It is an offence for a person to publish an image of the kind mentioned in subsection (1) .

(3) Publishing an image includes giving or making it available to another person by any means.

Gerard Lemos answered for the government:

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 contains a wide range of measures to strengthen the criminal law. The Government is working with law enforcement and other partners and will bring the remaining provisions into force as quickly as practicable.

We are progressing work to bring these offences into force this autumn, balancing speed with operational considerations and wider system impacts. We will clearly communicate to the public when these measures are commenced.

According to XBiz:

Ofcom, which enforces the Online Safety Act, has been awaiting guidance from the government on exactly how the new provision is to be implemented. It remains unclear what specific criteria might be used for assessing whether an image or video violates the law, whether Ofcom will be the sole investigator/enforcer of the law or if other agencies might be involved, and whether there will be an official procedure or series of steps for investigations and enforcement actions, as has been the case with enforcement of OSA age assurance rules.

It will be interesting to see the detailed censorship rules. Anything close to merely squeezing the throat for a short time or gagging in blowjobs would mean that tens of thousands of worldwide porn videos would qualify as illegal and every porn tube site in the world would be illegal. I don't see much chance of Pornhub working through all its porn videos censoring out offending scenes.

Default overnight curfews and addictive features to be switched off automatically to protect 16 and 17-year-olds on social media

Nighttime curfews to be set by default and features that get teens hooked onto social media to be automatically switched off for 16- and 17-year-olds Measures look to protect the next generation, ensuring that when kids turn 16, they don't face a cliff edge of being exposed to the most addictive features online.

Features that can keep users scrolling for longer - such as videos that automatically play one after another and feeds that continually serve up personalised content - will also be switched off by default for older teenagers.

The measures follow a first-of-its-kind government pilot involving more than 300 teenagers and parents across the UK, with families reporting that overnight curfews quickly became part of their routine and helped improve sleep and concentration.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: 

Our consultation provided a clear message from parents and teenagers alike - even as young people gain greater independence at 16, they should still be protected from the most addictive online features that can have a harmful impact on their wellbeing.

These measures will be crucial in helping young people get the sleep they need, focus on school and college, and spend more quality time with family and friends, all of which are fundamental to building a happy, healthy and fulfilling adult life.

Alongside these protections, the government will publish new guidance for children, parents and guardians on how to use AI safely and confidently by expanding the Kids Online Safety Hub.

The first set of regulations on the social media restrictions will be laid before Parliament by the end of this year, with measures expected to come into force in spring 2027, alongside robust implementation and enforcement.