If the UK has their way you can say goodbye to your favorite step mom porn.

A United Kingdom government-commissioned review on online pornography has proposed sweeping new restrictions on adult content, including an outright ban on “degrading, violent, and misogynistic” material.

The review, titled “Creating a Safer World—the Challenge of Regulating Online Pornography,” was initiated under former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government and has continued under Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer. It recommends giving UK communications regulator Ofcom expanded powers to prosecute adult content platforms that host harmful material.

Banning “extreme” pornography, including:

• Non-fatal strangulation (choking) depictions
• Any content deemed degrading, violent, or misogynistic

Creating a government “watch list” for restricted content, such as:

• “Incest pornography” between step-relations
• Other content that should be harder to find online

Forcing online platforms to remove “harmful” content via:

• Business disruption measures targeting advertisers, payment processors, and web hosts.
• Establishing a global coalition to export UK pornography regulations internationally.

The UK government currently does not ban legal pornography but enforces strict age verification rules under the Online Safety Act. The new recommendations could go further, criminalizing certain forms of adult content for the first time.

The review equates “degrading” adult material with already-illegal content such as child sexual abuse material (CSAM), trafficking, deepfakes, and intimate image abuse—a controversial move that free speech advocates warn could lead to broad censorship of legal adult content.

If adopted into law, these measures would:

✔ Require UK-based platforms to censor content deemed harmful.
✔ Force foreign websites to block access to UK users or comply with Ofcom’s rules.
✔ Allow Ofcom to impose financial and legal penalties on non-compliant platforms.

Civil liberties groups, free speech advocates, and the adult industry have already strongly criticized the proposals.

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC), representing the adult industry, condemned the report as a thinly veiled attempt at moral censorship.

“This isn’t about protecting women,” said FSC’s Mike Stabile. “It’s about policing desire. Consent should be the determining factor in legality, not government moral outrage.”

Industry attorney Lawrence Walters (Walters Law Group) warned that the proposals would create a “thought police” approach to sexual content:

“In the United States, such a ban would not survive First Amendment scrutiny. But in the UK, where free expression is not constitutionally protected, this could become a dangerous precedent.”

Baroness Gabrielle Bertin, the Conservative peer leading the review, has defended the proposals, arguing that online pornography contributes to harmful attitudes and behaviors.

“I’m not saying that porn shouldn’t exist,” she told the BBC Today program. “But we must address the harm it is causing in society, from domestic violence to toxic masculinity.”

The UK Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) backed her stance, citing “increasing evidence” that violent porn is influencing real-world behaviors.

“There is increasing evidence that choking is becoming a common part of real-life sexual encounters despite the significant medical dangers associated with it. The government will take urgent action.”

The UK government is now considering the review’s 32 recommendations. If enacted, the laws could:

• Expand Ofcom’s enforcement powers under the Online Safety Act.
• Criminalize certain types of legal pornography for the first time in the UK.
• Force websites, including foreign platforms, to comply with UK content rules or be blocked.

Current UK Science Secretary Peter Kyle has not yet confirmed whether these proposals will be fully adopted, but he signaled a willingness to act swiftly if necessary.

“If I have to adapt the law in response to any gaps that emerge, I will act as swiftly as I can.”

If the UK adopts these laws, it could influence other countries to follow suit, especially in Europe and the Commonwealth.

However, enforcing UK-based restrictions on foreign websites would raise complex legal and international trade issues, especially with US-based platforms like Pornhub, OnlyFans, and X.

The UK is moving toward one of the strictest regulatory frameworks for online adult content in the Western world. If these recommendations become law, they could:

✔ Redefine what types of adult content are legally allowed online.
✔ Set a global precedent for stricter pornography laws.
✔ Trigger significant industry pushback and legal challenges.