Key Points

• The Crime and Policing Act 2026 establishes new pornography offenses which will become active in England and Wales starting November 6, 2026.
• The law makes it illegal to own or distribute pornographic materials which show realistic strangulation or suffocation or specific incest-related sexual conduct or sexual acts with persons who seem to be under 16 years old.
• The law allows courts to impose two-year prison terms for people who own strangulation evidence or suffocation evidence or restricted incest content but three years for those who possess content showing persons under sixteen years old.
• Anyone who publishes forbidden content types will face up to five years of imprisonment.
• The Ministry of Justice defines possession as having images which exist on phone storage and computer files and personal accounts and cloud storage and physical locations and virtual spaces.
• People who had forbidden content needed to erase it completely before November 6 while content creators needed to take down their content.
• The laws operate throughout England and Wales while the Government uses these laws to fight content which promotes harmful or illegal behaviors including child sexual abuse.
• The Government has developed these measures to achieve their goal of reducing violence against women and girls by fifty percent through a ten-year period according to Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones.
• The YouGov poll which BirminghamLive published shows that 88% of people support banning content which shows youth impersonation and 78% support banning strangulation content and 77% support banning incest-related content.

Wales (Wales Times) November 06, 2026 – A major change to pornography law takes effect across England and Wales tomorrow, creating new criminal offences for possessing or publishing certain sexually explicit images. The rules, introduced through the Crime and Policing Act 2026, apply from Friday, November 6, 2026, and will affect people in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Solihull, Dudley, Walsall and across the wider West Midlands.

The Ministry of Justice says the new law criminalises pornographic images that “explicitly and realistically” depict strangulation or suffocation; penetrative sexual activity between people who a reasonable person would think are related, or are pretending to be related, in specified circumstances; and sexual activity involving at least two people where a reasonable person would think at least one person is, or is pretending to be, under 16.

The Government guidance states that the offences only cover pornography showing people who appear, to a reasonable person, to be real. It also says defences may be available, including where a person had not seen the image and did not know or have cause to suspect it was covered by the offences.

As reported by BirminghamLive, Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones said:

“From November 6, it will be illegal to possess or publish pornography showing strangulation or suffocation, sexual activity between certain relatives, or adults roleplaying as children under 16.”

Which images become illegal?

The new offences cover three broad categories of material. First, images explicitly and realistically showing strangulation or suffocation. The Ministry of Justice says strangulation generally means one person applying pressure to another person’s neck, while suffocation generally means depriving someone of air in a way that affects breathing, including covering the mouth and nose or compressing the chest.

Second, the law covers penetrative sexual activity between people who a reasonable person would think are related, or pretending to be related, in specified circumstances. The Government says this includes depictions of close familial relatives such as a father and daughter or brother and sister, as well as certain step and foster relationships where one person is, or is pretending to be, under 18.

Third, it covers sexual activity between at least two people where a reasonable person would think that at least one person is, or is pretending to be, under 16. The Government describes this as addressing material that risks normalising conduct that is harmful or illegal in real life, such as child sexual abuse.

As reported by Newsweek, the measures make it a criminal offence to possess or publish pornographic images depicting strangulation, suffocation, certain incestuous relationships or adults pretending to be children.

What are the possible prison terms?

The maximum penalty for possession differs according to the category of material. Possessing pornography depicting strangulation or suffocation, or penetrative sexual activity between certain relatives, can lead to up to two years in prison. Possessing material depicting sexual activity involving someone who is, or is pretending to be, under 16 can lead to up to three years.

For publication, the maximum penalty is five years’ imprisonment across all the new offences. The Ministry of Justice defines publication broadly as giving or making an image available to another person by any means, including uploading, posting, sending, sharing or distributing it.

As reported by the International Business Times, possessing prohibited images involving someone portrayed as under 16 can carry up to three years, while publishing any prohibited material can lead to a five-year sentence.

Does it cover phones and cloud storage?

Yes. The Ministry of Justice says “possess” is not specifically defined in the legislation and will be given its ordinary meaning, with courts deciding the facts in each case. It says possession will generally mean having custody or control of an image.

That can include an image stored on a device, retained in a personal account or cloud service, saved in files, or otherwise kept physically or virtually. The Government says people who already possess a covered image needed to permanently delete it or otherwise dispose of it before November 6 to avoid committing an offence once the law begins.

Publication is also treated as a continuing act. Anyone who has uploaded, posted or otherwise made a covered image available online or offline was advised to remove it and stop making it available before the offences came into force.

What defences are available?

The Government guidance sets out several possible defences. A person may have a defence if they had not previously seen the image and did not know, or have cause to suspect, that it was covered by the offences.

There is also a defence where the person who possesses or publishes the image directly participated in the act shown and meets other legal criteria. For possession offences, another defence applies where a person was sent the image without asking for it, either directly or through a third party, and did not keep it for an unreasonable length of time.

The offences also attract a defence of legitimate reason for possessing or publishing an image. The Ministry of Justice has not set out an exhaustive list of every circumstance in which such a defence would succeed, saying each case will depend on its facts.

Why has the Government introduced the law?

The Ministry of Justice says the Government recognises that some forms of pornography can shape real-world behaviour by normalising harmful or illegal sexual behaviour. It says the new offences target “particularly harmful” material, including content showing strangulation, suffocation, incest and adults roleplaying as children under 16.

As reported by BirminghamLive, Ms Davies-Jones said the Government has “a commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade” and argued that harmful pornography remains easy to access online.

She said:

“This isn’t about criminalising harmless sexual preferences. But porn can shape what people think a healthy relationship looks like, especially young people.”

Ms Davies-Jones added:

“Content that normalises, or even glorifies, violence against women is dangerous and can blur the line with what is acceptable in real life.”

She also said:

“Young people especially deserve better examples of what healthy relationships look like. Real intimacy is built on respect and trust, not abuse.”

What does public opinion show?

YouGov research published before the change found strong public support for the bans. It reported that 88% of respondents supported prohibiting pornography depicting someone who appears to be, or is pretending to be, under 16.

The polling found 78% supported a ban on depictions of strangulation, while 77% backed a prohibition on incest-related pornography. YouGov also reported that 77% of the British public supported such a ban overall, compared with 14% who opposed it.

As reported by BirminghamLive, the proportion saying they “strongly support” each ban was 79% for depictions involving people who appear to be or pretend to be under 16, and between 63% and 64% for the other categories.

How are media outlets reporting it?

BirminghamLive reported that the change will make five types of pornography illegal: material depicting strangulation, suffocation, sex between related people, sex between people pretending to be related, and material involving someone pretending to be a child under 16.

Newsweek reported that people convicted of possessing pornography depicting strangulation, suffocation or specified incestuous activity face a maximum sentence of two years, while possession of material involving someone who appears to be or pretends to be under 16 carries up to three years.

The Independent reported that possessing or publishing pornography depicting strangulation or suffocation, or penetrative sex between relatives, carries a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment.

WalesOnline reported that the new rules could affect material shared through messaging services, warning that a WhatsApp group chat could potentially become an issue if prohibited images are shared through it.

Wired reported that the law is intended to curb violence against women and girls, but noted concerns among some commentators about the breadth of possession offences and the inclusion of material stored on personal devices or cloud accounts.

404 Media reported that the legislation criminalises possession or publication of strangulation or suffocation pornography and some forms of close-familial-roleplay material, even where content is recorded privately and not sold through a commercial site.

Background of the development

The new offences form part of the Crime and Policing Act 2026. The Ministry of Justice published guidance on October 16, 2026, explaining that the measures would begin in England and Wales on November 6, 2026.

The Government’s stated rationale is to address pornography that it says risks normalising harmful or illegal sexual behaviour. The guidance specifically links the measures to concerns about violence against women and girls and child sexual abuse.

The law does not introduce a general ban on all pornography. Its scope is limited to pornographic images that explicitly and realistically depict the three categories set out in the guidance, subject to the statutory defences.

Prediction: how it may affect West Midlands residents

For people in the West Midlands, the immediate practical effect is likely to be greater legal risk around keeping, forwarding or reposting certain explicit images. Residents who retain prohibited material on phones, computers, messaging apps or cloud accounts may now face potential criminal liability if the images meet the legal test and no defence applies.

The change may also affect people who operate social-media accounts, messaging groups or online communities. Sharing, forwarding or making prohibited images available to others could fall within the publication offence, which carries a higher maximum penalty of five years.

For young adults in particular, the Government’s messaging suggests an increased focus on consent, respectful relationships and the risks of violent or age-ambiguous sexual content. Ms Davies-Jones said young people deserve better examples of healthy relationships, while advising anyone holding the material to delete it and anyone sharing it to stop.

The wider effect in the region may be increased awareness of digital record-keeping and content-sharing practices. West Midlands residents who are unsure whether an image is covered should rely on the Ministry of Justice guidance and seek advice from a qualified legal professional rather than making assumptions about whether material is lawful.