England and Wales ban pornography showing strangulation from 6 November

New criminal offences covering certain pornographic content take effect in England and Wales on 6 November. Under the Crime and Policing Act 2026, it will be illegal to possess or publish pornography depicting strangulation or suffocation, sex between certain relatives or people pretending to be related, and content in which adults roleplay as children under 16. “From November 6, it will be illegal to possess or publish pornography showing strangulation or suffocation,” Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones told ITV News. “This isn't about criminalising harmless sexual preferences.”

The government is responding to cross-party pressure. The recommendations stem from a review by Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin, which in February 2025 criticised a “total absence of government scrutiny” of the industry; she said the change came “not a moment too soon”. Non-fatal strangulation is already an offence, but showing it online has not been. “Strangulation can cause serious, lasting harm and even death,” says Janaya Walker, interim director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition.

The coalition welcomes the ban but calls for robust enforcement and an update to the Online Safety Act so that platforms must remove such content. Criticism also comes from a petition that, according to LADbible, sees a loophole: the roleplay rule only applies when adults portray people under 16; campaigners want a complete ban on school uniforms in pornography. Davies-Jones confirmed that possessing or sharing pornography in which adults pretend to be children under 16 will be an imprisonable offence: “Pornography must never normalise or glorify the sexual abuse of children.”