// WIRED US/UK — MONDO
A New UK Porn Ban Sparks Fears of Unprecedented Sex Censorship
A new UK law banning porn featuring choking and “fauxcest,” or simulated incest, may have unintended consequences for content creators and smut fans all over the world, some experts warn.
As of November 6, amendments to the Crime and Policing Act will outlaw the “possession or publication of pornographic images of strangulation or suffocation”—a law intended to curb violence against women and girls. Yet some experts warn that the legislation is written broadly enough that it could potentially criminalize far more innocuous content, including “breast smothering,” “jeans facesitting,” and even potentially oral sex, ostensibly because people could have their airways impeded during these activities.
“I would encourage both content creators and consumers to underscore the risks of this law,” says Myles Jackman, an obscenity lawyer in the UK. “Because to me, it genuinely seems like one of the greatest acts of suppression of free speech in global history.”
The new amendments were inspired by a lengthy pornography review authored by Baroness Gabby Bertin, a Conservative member of the UK House of Lords. The legislation bans various depictions of sex acts, including “pornographic images of strangulation or suffocation,” as well as content showing performers role-playing as minors under the age of 16.
It also takes aim at “fauxcest,” an extremely popular porn niche that depicts simulated sexual relations between family members who are not related by blood, such as stepsiblings or stepparents. In Bertin’s review recommending the ban on such content, she cites “anecdotal evidence” suggesting that fauxcest “can be used between an abuser and child to permit interfamily child sex abuse,” describing it as a “fig-leaf” of sorts for actual sexual abuse.
Under the new law, those caught distributing or in possession of such content face up to five years in prison and a fine.
The impending UK legislation has prompted panic among some adult creators, many of whom are currently combing through their content libraries and removing clips that could get swept up in the ban.
“The problem is always how broad [the legislation] is,” says Alexandra Snow, an adult content creator and educator. “And we won't know how they're going to interpret it until they start making people's lives hell.”
Snow says she is particularly concerned about how the aspect of the legislation pertaining to “suffocation or strangulation” will affect kink creators, who may make content related to collaring or leather fetishes. She’s also worried about AI image-recognition software, which is already in widespread use among the platforms, potentially flagging content that isn’t violative at all. “They use a very broad, heavy-handed approach,” she says.
Cami Strella, an OnlyFans creator in the US who estimates that 60 to 70 percent of her content depicts some form of role-play, including step-“fauxcest,” is also concerned about the legislation. She says that the content she makes is “just playing a fantasy,” and that more sex education and literacy is required to teach people about the risks of various behaviors.