UK: Filming 'perverse' sexual acts can lead to prison
Great Britain is banning pornography featuring certain fetishes. Mere possession can lead to prison sentences. Creators are up in arms.
Great Britain is banning pornography featuring certain fetishes. Mere possession can lead to prison sentences. Creators are up in arms.
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Since last weekend, you are no longer allowed to possess, produce, or publish certain types of pornography in the United Kingdom. This includes scenes involving strangulation, incest roleplay, or teenage sex roleplay.
What exactly is prohibited?
In addition to existing bans, which primarily concern depictions of non-consensual sexual acts, certain content that was created consensually is now also prohibited. This includes "explicit and realistic" depictions of strangulation—i.e., "choking play"—as well as incest and teenage sex simulations. This applies even if all participants are consenting and the actors are demonstrably neither minors nor related to each other. It is also prohibited to create or possess such content using AI. This law stems from an investigation and recommendation by the Conservative politician Baroness Gabby Bertin.
Possession can lead to up to two years in prison, and up to three years for content involving teenage roleplay with individuals under 16. Anyone who distributes such material risks penalties of up to five years in prison. However, the law provides for exceptions: you remain exempt from punishment, for example, if you received such an image unsolicited and did not keep it for an "inappropriately long time."
Source: House of Lords
Platforms that offer images and videos with such content must now also take action. Under the Online Safety Act, they must prevent users from the United Kingdom from encountering such content. In the event of violations of this duty, the media regulator Ofcom can impose fines on the platform of up to 18 million pounds (or ten percent of global turnover, whichever is higher).
Wording in the law said to be "too vague"
The adult site Clips4Sale, which specializes in certain fetishes, has reacted particularly rigorously, blocking hundreds of videos for visitors from the United Kingdom. The creators and performers of the corresponding content are complaining of major losses, even though they believe the content is harmless. Other platforms have also reacted, such as LoyalFans, which has adjusted its terms and conditions and blocked certain content. Industry giant Pornhub had already blocked British users previously.
However, creators can edit their video material themselves and submit it for a new review. The support department spoke of a "precautionary measure." Creators and performers are criticizing this. For example, the majority of videos by performers such as Sophia Truee, Madame Caramel, or Goddess Kitty have already been blocked. They are complaining about the platforms' overcautious reaction. Other organizations are also accusing the government of drafting the law too vaguely. Because of the overly general definitions and the resulting "zero-risk" policy of the platforms, performers are fearing for their livelihoods. Furthermore, this could also affect purchased or privately saved content, which restricts the freedom of citizens.
Source: gov.uk
The British Ministry of Justice justifies the new laws in its guidance by citing the influence of pornography on people's real-life behavior. The government is thereby acknowledging that some forms of pornography could normalize harmful or illegal sexual behavior. For this reason, these "particularly harmful forms of pornography" have been criminalized. However, "harmless sexual preferences" are not intended to be criminalized, as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, Alex Davies-Jones, explained.
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