UK to Criminalise Porn Depicting Strangulation

The UK government will criminalise the possession and publication of online pornography depicting strangulation or suffocation through amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill after an independent review by Conservative peer Baroness Bertin found such images are widespread and have helped normalise choking as a sexual practice. The review cited worrying accounts—such as pupils asking how to choke girls—and warned imitators may face devastating consequences; health experts cited by campaigners and the review say repeated non-fatal strangulation can cause brain changes and serious harm even when there are no visible marks. Online platforms will be required to proactively detect and remove this material, the offence will be treated as a "priority" under online-safety rules, and enforcement may be carried out via Ofcom. Ministers, including Technology Secretary Liz Kendall and victims minister Alex Davies-Jones, called the content "vile and dangerous" and said the reforms aim to stop material that normalises violence against women and girls. Separately, the government will extend the time limit for prosecuting intimate-image abuse, including so-called revenge porn, from six months to three years to improve victims' access to justice.