- New laws coming into force on 6 November will make it illegal to possess or publish pornography depicting strangulation or suffocation, sex between those who are, or are role-playing as, relatives, and those who are, or are portraying, under-16s.
- The ban follows cross-party pressure and a review by Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin, which highlighted how violent online content normalises abuse against women and girls with devastating real-world impact.
- Disobeying the new ban will be a criminal offence, carrying sentences of up to two years' imprisonment for strangulation or incest depictions, and up to three years for material involving or portraying under-16s.
- Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones stated the legislation aligns with the government's goal to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, urging people to delete non-compliant material immediately.
- Research from the Institute for Addressing Strangulation underscored the issue, showing that 43 per cent of sexually active 16- and 17-year-olds reported being choked during sex.
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