UK bans strangulation and incest roleplay porn from November 6

Britain will ban pornography depicting strangulation or suffocation starting tomorrow, November 6, under updates to the Crime and Policing Act. The law also criminalises incest roleplay and sexual activity where someone pretends to be under 16.

Possession of strangulation or suffocation porn can bring up to two years in prison, while possession of under-16 roleplay material carries up to three years. Publishing any of the banned content can lead to a maximum five-year sentence.

“You have to speak up for porn you don't like, as well as the porn you do, because otherwise the government will keep censoring more and more depictions of acts they don't fancy.”

The changes target what Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones called an epidemic of horrific behaviour and the normalisation of violence against women and girls. More than two in five sexually active under-18s in the UK have been strangled or strangled someone during sex, according to the Institute for Addressing Strangulation.

Critics warn the law is vague. A UK-based writer and sex worker told 404 Media that many women enjoy breath play privately and offer it in sessions, arguing that the government should not censor depictions of acts it dislikes.

The offences apply only to pornography that appears, to a reasonable person, to depict real people. The rules cover England and Wales, and sixteen remains the age of consent in the UK.