The War on Porn Regular Updates about the Assault on The Adult Industry
Related Articles
LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing the prospect of dissent within his own Labour Party if the government does not support a proposed ban on certain categories of pornography included in the Crime and Policing Bill.
The pressure follows a narrow vote in the House of Lords earlier this month, where peers approved an amendment by 144 to 143 to prohibit simulated incest pornography, step-relationship content and depictions such as consensual strangulation.
Several Labour backbenchers, many of them women, have raised concerns about the availability of so-called “step-incest” material online and its potential impact on victims of child sexual abuse. Some lawmakers argue that such content could contribute to harm, according to reports from U.K. media outlets.
One unnamed Labour member of Parliament described “step-incest” pornography as a “gateway drug” to illegal material. Lawmakers from Labour have also worked with Conservative MPs on efforts to criminalize depictions of step-family sexual relationships, even when they are fictional.
Data from Pornhub’s 2025 Year in Review shows that “step mom” remains among the most frequently searched terms on the platform.
If enacted, the law would make a range of currently legal pornography depicting step-relationships subject to potential prosecution by the Crown Prosecution Service, as well as enforcement by agencies including the Metropolitan Police Service and regional police forces.
Baroness Gabby Bertin, who led an independent parliamentary review on the harms of pornography, urged peers to support restrictions on what she described as taboo content, including material portraying “intercourse with a step-child.”
Bertin said online pornography often includes scenes “with settings in children’s bedrooms, with actors in children’s clothes, braces, toys, pigtails, and other markers of childhood. Millions of videos and images are then tagged as ‘little,’ ‘tiny,’ ‘age gap,’ ‘mommy,’ ‘daddy,’ or ‘teen.’”
The government has also drafted provisions to ban the possession or publication of pornography depicting sex between relatives.
The inclusion of step-relationship content in the proposed restrictions prompted debate within the government. Justice minister Baroness Alison Levitt said that while such material is controversial, these relationships are “not illegal in real life.”
Levitt also raised concerns about a separate amendment to the bill involving consent withdrawal. The measure would allow individuals appearing in adult content to withdraw consent at any time, with producers facing potential imprisonment and fines if they fail to comply.
Under the proposal, initial consent to publication would no longer be considered sufficient. If consent is withdrawn, platforms and studios would be required to remove the material within 24 hours of notification.
