England and Wales are about to redraw the line for adult content online. From 6 November 2026, it will be illegal to possess or publish pornography that depicts strangulation or suffocation, sexual activity between people who are related or pretending to be related, or someone portraying a child under 16 — a shift with direct implications for platforms, agencies, and creators who sell to UK audiences.

According to The Guardian‘s Jamie Grierson, the ban follows cross-party pressure and recommendations from Conservative peer Gabby Bertin’s 2025 review of pornography regulation. BBC technology reporter Laura Cress similarly reports that the new rules turn what was already an offline offence for non-fatal strangulation into a clear criminal line for showing it online.

What becomes illegal on 6 November

The package covers three categories. Grierson writes that online pornography depicting strangulation or suffocation, sex between people who are related or pretending to be related, or when somebody is pretending to be a child under 16, will be illegal in England and Wales. Cress adds that it will be illegal both to possess and to publish that material, and that the rules also capture step- or foster-relation role-play where one person is portrayed as under 18.

The government’s Crime and Policing Act 2026 pornography factsheet says the strangulation offence covers images that portray strangling or suffocating in an “explicit and realistic” way — including realistic AI-generated images — where a reasonable person would think the people depicted were real. Non-fatal strangulation was already an offence in its own right, Grierson notes, but showing it online was not.

Penalties and platform duties

According to the BBC’s Laura Cress, publication of the banned content carries a maximum of five years’ imprisonment, which the government says can include uploading, posting, or otherwise making the material available online. Possession penalties differ by category: up to three years for images depicting sexual activity involving a person pretending to be under 16, and up to two years for images depicting strangulation, suffocation, or penetrative sexual activity between certain relatives. Keeping an image on a phone, computer, or in cloud storage can count as possession, the government says.

The GOV.UK factsheet states these offences will be listed as priority offences under the Online Safety Act 2023, so platforms must take proactive steps to stop the material appearing. Ofcom can fine services that fail those duties up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is higher. Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones, quoted by both outlets, put it bluntly for individuals holding the material: “If you’ve got this material, delete it. If you’re sharing it, stop… after 6 November, it is criminal.”

Why ministers say the ban is needed

Davies-Jones told The Guardian the move is not about “criminalising harmless sexual preferences,” but that porn “can shape what people think a healthy relationship looks like, especially young people,” and that content which “normalises, or even glorifies, violence against women is dangerous.” Bertin’s review, Grierson reports, found choking depictions can have “devastating” real-world consequences and highlighted a “total absence of government scrutiny” of the porn industry. Cress notes the review found choking depictions “rife” on popular sites and warned that people imitating such behaviour “may face devastating consequences.”

Lady Bertin welcomed the commencement of the offences as “not a moment too soon,” saying the change will “send the unequivocal signal” to companies that host porn — and to wider society — that extreme and violent content encouraging real-life harm is not acceptable. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she said strangulation porn had “absolutely sort of normalised this kind of sexual violence.”

Campaigners push for enforcement

The End Violence Against Women Coalition welcomed the ban. Interim director Janaya Walker told The Guardian it is “an important step towards tackling the normalisation of violence against women and girls,” urged effective enforcement, and called on the government to update the Online Safety Act so platforms are required to remove the content. Durham University law professor Clare McGlynn told the BBC the commencement is a “potential turning point” and “line in the sand,” but said transforming the online landscape still requires platforms and the regulator to act — not only prosecutions of individuals.

The takeaway

For creators and platforms selling into England and Wales, 6 November is a hard date: possession and publication of the listed categories become criminal, and Online Safety Act priority-offence duties push hosts to detect and remove the material or risk Ofcom-level fines. The statute is aimed at content that depicts strangulation or suffocation, incestuous or pretend-relative sex, or portraying someone as under 16 — not at adult work generally. The practical move before the deadline is the one Davies-Jones already spelled out: if you have it, delete it; if you share it, stop.

Image: Houses of Parliament, London, photo by Michael D Beckwith (CC0 1.0), via Wikimedia Commons.