A New UK Porn Ban Sparks Fears of Unprecedented Sex Censorship
Wired · Ej Dickson ·
Adult content creators and free speech advocates are sounding the alarm over a new law about to take effect in the United Kingdom banning simulated incest and some depictions of oral sex.
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.