The United Kingdom is on the verge of making a major change to what you can watch online, and it’s got everyone from politicians to performers talking. A new plan to ban all depictions of choking and strangulation in pornography is moving through Parliament, with supporters calling it a vital step to protect women and critics slamming it as a dangerous slide into censorship.
The Official Line: “Dangerous and Degrading”
The push is coming directly from His Majesty’s Ministry of Justice, which announced last week that the ban would be added to the UK’s massive Crime and Policing Bill. The government’s argument is clear: this type of content has real-world consequences.
Alex Davies-Jones, the Parliamentary Minister for Victims & Violence Against Women and Girls, put it bluntly:
“Depicting strangulation during sex is not only dangerous, but also degrading, with real-life consequences for women. Cracking down on the appalling rise of strangulation pornography will protect women and send a clear signal to men and boys that misogyny will not be tolerated.”
This move is the culmination of the controversial Independent Porn Review, spearheaded by Baroness Gabrielle Bertin. The review took aim at a wide range of content it labeled “extreme” or “legal but harmful,” casting a net that included many popular BDSM kinks and fetishes far beyond just choking.
Critics Fire Back: “Publicity Stunt” or Broad Censorship?
Not everyone is buying the government’s reasoning. The adult industry and free speech advocates are sounding the alarm, arguing that the ban is ill-conceived and a threat to creative freedom and consensual expression. Serena Smith, news editor for the culture magazine Dazed, dismissed the effort as little more than a “publicity stunt.”
Industry organizations are concerned that this is just the beginning. The Free Speech Coalition (FSC), a major advocacy group for the adult entertainment industry, has been fighting this push from the start. As reported by AVN, their director of public policy, Mike Stabile, warned about the vague language being used to justify the censorship.
“From the beginning of the process, it was clear that the review had a specific goal—broad censorship of adult content—something we fought about and pushed back against aggressively. While the report claims to focus on ‘extreme’ content, in reality, the terms they’re using are vague, ill-defined, subjective, and broad.”
The fear is that by banning depictions of a consensual BDSM practice, the government is conflating fantasy with real-world violence. Critics argue this move won’t stop the behavior but will instead drive it underground, away from platforms that can educate on safety and consent. This ban is seen by many as part of a wider, more worrying trend in the UK, closely linked to the country’s sweeping Online Safety Act, which has been criticized for promoting over-zealous censorship in the name of safety.
What Happens Next?
The fight is far from over, but the wheels are in motion. The amended Crime and Policing Bill, with the choking ban included, has already passed through the House of Commons. It now heads to the House of Lords, where it has the firm backing of Baroness Bertin and her allies.
As the bill moves forward, the debate rages on: Is this a necessary measure to combat misogyny, or a misguided attempt to police the private, consensual fantasies of adults? For many in the adult industry, Stabile’s warning hangs in the air, suggesting that what starts with choking could end with a much broader and more restrictive digital world.
* Photo from asnhub.com
