On November 6, 2026, new criminal offenses under the Crime and Policing Act 2026 will take effect in England and Wales, prohibiting the possession or publication of specified categories of pornographic images and videos. The restrictions reach certain staged adult performances and realistic AI-generated content, not only images depicting actual unlawful conduct.
Key Takeaway
Adult-content producers, distributors, creator platforms, and other services with relevant England and Wales exposure should review both new uploads and existing content before November 6. Content that remains available after that date can constitute continuing publication.
What Content Is Covered
Strangulation or suffocation. Pornographic images that explicitly and realistically depict one person strangling or suffocating another, where the people appear real to a reasonable viewer. The rule is not limited to nonconsensual conduct. Suffocation can involve obstruction of breathing without pressure to the neck.
Sex between certain relatives. Explicit and realistic depictions of penetrative sexual activity between people presented as actual or purported close relatives, including parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, siblings and half-siblings, and certain aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews. Adoptive parent-child relationships are included. Depictions involving step or foster relationships are covered where at least one person is, or is portrayed as, under 18; the law does not categorically prohibit every adult step-family scenario.
Sexual activity involving a purported child under 16. Pornographic images that explicitly and realistically portray sexual activity between at least two people where a reasonable viewer would think one person is, or is pretending to be, under 16. The actors may both be adults. Relevant context includes accompanying dialogue, audio, titles, and descriptions. The statute excludes portrayals in which the supposed under-16 age is fanciful rather than reasonably believable.
These offenses apply to still and moving images. Realistic synthetic or AI-generated images can qualify if the depicted people appear real. Obvious cartoons generally do not meet that test. The Act also contains limited defenses and exclusions, which should be assessed on their specific facts rather than treated as blanket permission.
Publication Includes Existing Online Content
“Publication” includes giving or making an image available to another person by any means, including uploading, streaming, sending, or sharing. It is not limited to public websites or commercial sales. A previously posted video or image that remains accessible after November 6 may continue to be published for purposes of the new offenses.
The UK Ministry of Justice also warns that possession can include images retained in files, devices, online accounts, or cloud storage, depending on custody or control. Its October 16 guidance advises persons possessing covered material to delete or otherwise dispose of it before the effective date, and persons continuing to publish it to remove it from availability.
Criminal Exposure and Platform Obligations
The maximum sentence for publication of covered material is five years’ imprisonment. The maximum for possession is two years for strangulation, suffocation, or the specified family-relationship content, and three years for content involving a person who appears or purports to be under 16.
The Act also designates the new offenses as priority offenses under the UK Online Safety Act 2023. Services subject to that Act should account for these categories in their illegal-content risk assessments and proportionate prevention, moderation, and takedown controls. Separate statutory rules provide conditional protections for certain mere-conduit, caching, and hosting activities; a platform is not automatically criminally liable solely because a user uploaded prohibited material.
The November 6 commencement announced by the Ministry of Justice applies to England and Wales. Related provisions address Scotland and Northern Ireland, but businesses should not assume a single UK-wide commencement date or identical scope. Operators based outside the UK also need to assess any Online Safety Act obligations where their services have the required UK links.
What Adult Businesses Should Do Before November 6
- Review existing catalogs and user-generated content, including previews, private sharing features, archived files, and realistic AI-generated material. Evaluate the imagery together with associated titles, tags, descriptions, and audio.
- Remove covered material from any publication that must cease before the deadline, and assess possession and storage copies under the business’s control. Handle preservation requirements or possible legal holds separately rather than assuming unrestricted retention or deletion is appropriate.
- Update prohibited-content standards, creator instructions, upload screening, moderator guidance, and reporting procedures to address the specific categories described by the Act.
- For services within the UK Online Safety Act, revisit illegal-content risk assessments and make sure escalation and takedown procedures address these new priority offenses.
- Assess the service’s actual UK exposure and any applicable intermediary protections. Age verification, performer consent, and ordinary Terms of Service prohibitions do not independently resolve these content restrictions.
Silverstein Legal can help adult-content businesses determine whether the new offenses affect their catalogs or platform features, assess UK regulatory exposure, and update content policies and operational controls before November 6.
Corey D. Silverstein
Managing Attorney, Silverstein Legal
This article does not constitute legal advice and is provided for your information only and should not be relied upon in lieu of consultation with legal advisors in your own jurisdiction. It may not be current as the laws in this area change frequently. Transmission of the information contained in this article is not intended to create, and the receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship between sender and receiver.
About Silverstein Legal
Founded in 2006 by adult entertainment lawyer Corey D. Silverstein, Silverstein Legal is a boutique law firm that caters to the needs of anyone working in the adult entertainment industry. Silverstein Legal’s clients include hosting companies, affiliate programs, content producers, processors, designers, developers, and website operators.
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