The 3 types of ‘normalised’ porn being banned from tomorrow

There’s some big changes happening in the porn world (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto) From tomorrow, Brits will no longer be able to watch porn containing ‘horrific material’. Any porn featuring strangulation or suffocation will be banned from November 6, in the fight against the normalisation of violence against women and girls. In addition, sex between people who are related or pretending to be incestuous, or where somebody is pretending to be a child under 16, will also be made illegal. Alex Davies-Jones, Minister for Victims and Violence Against Women and Girls, has called this pornographic material an ‘epidemic’ of ‘horrific behaviour’. She believes these new laws, which are part of the Crime and Policing Bill, will ‘stop cowardly perpetrators from hiding behind a screen and thinking that means they’re able to facilitate abuse with impunity’. Here’s everything you need to know… Strangulation and suffocation Strangulation has been an epidemic in porn. The act, commonly known as ‘choking’ has become internalised by those under 40 as a normal practice. More than two in five sexually active under-18s in the UK have either been strangled or strangled someone during sex, according to a study by the Institute for Addressing Strangulation (Ifas), with more than half of under 35s experiencing it, too. Sign up to The Hook-Up, Metro's sex and dating newsletter Love reading juicy stories like this? Need some tips for how to spice things up in the bedroom? Sign up to The Hook-Up and we'll slide into your inbox every week with all the latest sex and dating stories from Metro. We can't wait for you to join us! Strangulation in porn has been widely normalised (Picture: Getty Images) Vicky Young, Head of Stop It Now for child protection charity Lucy Faithfull Foundation told Metro: ‘People viewing this extreme pornography – especially young people who may be exposed to it online – might think that strangulation and other violent behaviours are normal in sexual relationships, without understanding the risks.’ Ask Metro Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications. Indeed, 36% said they felt scared during the experience and 21% suffered dangerous physical symptoms, including dizziness and even loss of consciousness. ‘This isn’t about criminalising harmless sexual preferences,’ Alex Davies-Jones told Metro. ‘But porn can shape what people think a healthy relationship looks like, especially young people. ‘Content that normalises, or even glorifies, violence against women is dangerous and can blur the line with what is acceptable in real life.’ From tomorrow, if you possess or publish porn depicting strangulation or suffocation, you could be imprisoned for up to two years. New porn laws at a glance When do they come into effect? November 6, 2026 What is banned? Depictions of strangulation and suffocation, punishable by up to two years imprisonment for possession or publication of this porn. Impersonating a child in porn under the age of 16, punishable by up to three years in prison. Depictions of incest, including between step-family, punishable by two years’ imprisonment for possession, or five years for publication. Impersonating a child The ban of this particular type of porn has been making headlines for years. We’ve seen high profile sexual misconduct investigations into the likes of Jeffrey Epstein, R. Kelly, Kevin Spacey, Larry Nassar. Bonnie Blue was heavily criticised for using the term ‘barely legal’ to market her sex work, while ‘teen’ is among the most popular search terms on Pornhub. Emily Atack recently made headlines after backing a petition from teens to ban the depiction of school uniforms in porn, to stop them being sexualised. Porn featuring the depiction of those under 16 will also be illegal (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto) Alex Davies-Jones praised the petition, telling Metro: ‘Pornography must never normalise or glorify the sexual abuse of children. That’s why we’re changing the law so possessing or sharing pornography which depicts an adult pretending to be a child under 16 will be an imprisonable offence.’ However, students worried that without school uniforms in porn being banned specifically, there could be a grey area for porn publishers to claim they were depicting 16 to 18-year-olds instead. Posessing or publishing porn depicting under 16s will be punishable by up to three years in prison. ‘We’re pleased to see this ban because it will make children safer,’ Vicky Young added. ‘In addition, thousands of people who contact our Stop It Now helpline tell us that extreme pornography has played a role in their pathway to viewing illegal sexual images of children. ‘Over time, people become desensitised and seek more extreme content in a process of escalation. It’s a common pathway for people who have viewed illegal images, and this ban could help prevent that.’ Depictions of incest ‘The possession of this horrific material does lead to real world harm, and there are links to child sexual abuse as a result of this,’ Alex added. The minister previously told Metro she met with a woman whose father was looking at depictions of incest in porn, then ‘creating elaborate stories of abusing her, and posting them online’. Any depiction of incest will be illegal (Picture: Getty Images) Now, the creation and possession of porn showing incest, whether those appearing are actually related or not, will be banned. It will be punishable with two years’ imprisonment for possession or five years for publication of the porn. Previously, it was only an offence if incest actually took place. Since this measure was announced in February, it’s been expanded to include portrayals of step-family incest porn. In a debate in the House of Lords as part of the bill’s report stage, Baroness Bertin said she was ‘mystified’ why step-incest hadn’t already been included, adding: ‘In 2024, 4.1 billion videos viewed on Pornhub featured incest-related scenarios.’ Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@metro.co.uk Deals of the Day We're adding this discounted NEOM gift set straight to basket Want an LED face mask for less? 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