New criminal offences covering the possession and publication of specified categories of pornography will come into force in England and Wales on 6 November 2026, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed.
Guidance published on 16 October explains how provisions in the Crime and Policing Act 2026 will apply to explicit, realistic images depicting strangulation or suffocation, certain sexual activity between people portrayed as relatives, and sexual activity involving someone portrayed as under 16.
What will become illegal?
The offences cover possession or publication of pornographic images that explicitly and realistically depict:
- One person strangling or suffocating another.
- Specified forms of penetrative sexual activity between people who appear to be, or pretend to be, relatives, including certain step-family and foster-family scenarios.
- Sexual activity involving at least two people where one appears to be, or pretends to be, under 16.
The legislation applies to images which a reasonable person would consider to show real people. The statutory definitions and the circumstances of each case determine whether an image is covered.
What are the penalties?
For possession, the maximum sentence is two years' imprisonment for the strangulation, suffocation and specified relatives categories, or three years for the category involving someone portrayed as under 16. Publication of material covered by any of the three offences carries a maximum of five years' imprisonment.
Existing material and legal defences
The Ministry of Justice says people already possessing prohibited images must permanently delete or otherwise dispose of them before 6 November. Anyone continuing to make covered images available must also cease publication before the offences begin.
The law provides statutory defences in specified circumstances, including where someone had not seen an image and did not know or have reason to suspect its nature, where an unsolicited image was not retained for an unreasonable time, and where there is a legitimate reason for possession or publication. The precise conditions of each defence matter.
Government's stated rationale
Ministers say the changes are intended to address pornography which risks normalising harmful or unlawful conduct. The offences were legislated for earlier in 2026; the new development is the confirmation of their commencement date and the publication of implementation guidance.
The 6 November commencement described in the guidance applies to England and Wales; laws in Scotland and Northern Ireland should not be assumed to be identical.