New Pornography Offences Take Effect in England and Wales on November 6

New offences begin Friday

November 5, 2026 · 4:38 a.m. Central / 10:38 a.m. in London

New criminal offences covering possession and publication of certain pornographic images are due to take effect Friday, November 6, in England and Wales.

They apply to specified explicit and realistic depictions involving strangulation or suffocation, certain family relationships and sexual activity between at least two people in which one appears or is portrayed as under 16, according to Ministry of Justice guidance. The guidance says the people shown must appear real to a reasonable person. It is not a ban on all pornography.

The government says the measures address material it believes can normalize harmful conduct. Adult-content creators and free-speech advocates have raised concerns about the breadth of the rules and how courts or platforms will interpret them, WIRED reported.

What the guidance says

The family-relationship offence concerns specified depictions of penetrative sexual activity involving people who a reasonable person would think are, or are pretending to be, related in certain ways. The guidance specifies some step and foster relationships only where one person is, or is pretending to be, under 18.

The separate under-16 provision can cover portrayals involving adults pretending to be children. The government says whether a particular image falls within an offence is a question for the courts and that the law includes defenses, subject to their conditions.

The guidance says possession can include material kept on a device or in an account or cloud storage; publication can include making it available to someone else. It describes possession and publication as continuing acts and says covered material must be disposed of or removed before the offences begin. Readers should consult the full official guidance and seek qualified legal advice about individual circumstances.

Safety goals and concerns over scope

The Justice Ministry told WIRED the aim is to prevent harm and challenge material that normalizes violence, rather than police sexual freedom. The outlet also reported concerns from creators and lawyer Myles Jackman that broad wording and automated moderation could affect material outside the intended target. Those are concerns about application, not a court ruling about particular content.

Jackman separately shared a general-information resource on X for platforms and creators. His post is not a government statement or individualized legal advice.

Lawyer Myles Jackman shared a general-information resource about one part of the law.

— Myles Jackman (@MylesJackman) Read the original post on X

Penalties and legal safeguards

The Ministry of Justice lists maximum prison terms of two years for possession under the strangulation or certain-family-relationship offences, three years for the under-16 depiction offence, and five years for publication. A maximum is not an automatic sentence.

The guidance describes defenses that may apply in specified circumstances, including a legitimate reason, certain participants, or material received unsolicited and not kept for an unreasonable time. Their conditions matter; the guidance and legislation should be read in full. The offences are distinct from existing online age-verification rules.

Sources and visual credits

Ministry of Justice: offences and defenses · Government factsheet · Parliamentary answer: commencement date · WIRED: creators, lawyer and government · Myles Jackman on X.

Visual: generated conceptual illustration of a courthouse and document, not an actual court or image of the legislation.