The UK’s Crime and Policing Bill has passed in the House of Commons, meaning it is now certain to soon become law. Whilst it’s tempting to dismiss Britain’s sad descent into a Third World Feminist/Islamist hybrid society as irrelevant to non-UK based webmasters, the reality is that it is likely to have wider repercussions on the industry.
The bill makes it illegal to posess or publish images of “strangulation” (more commonly referred to in porn as “choking”) and adult scenes in which an actress is portraying herself as a minor (or more specifically an under 16). The good news is that the bill isn’t as wide as originally intended by its sponsors, who hoped to make all “fakecest” porn illegal, as well as “barely legal” content.
Even if your first thought is that “the Brits can go to hell”, the hard truth is that British regulation of porn will likely affect your business in some way. First of all, the fact is that the UK remains the second largest adult entertainment market behind the USA. Major studios are unlikely to ignore these rules for fear of missing out on that market (through being blocked). Secondly, they may effectively be forced to follow these rules through pressure exerted by Mastercard and Visa.
The biggest issue will be with the ban on “choking” porn, as the wording is vague enough to leave in doubt whether simply showing the male actor with his hands around the neck of the actress could be perceived as “strangulation”. As far as the “representing minors” is concerned, it has been made clear that, for example, the actress wearing a school uniform will not be made illegal, but rather the explicit portrayal of a person under 16 (the age of consent in the UK is 16).
Disclaimer: I am not a legal expert and you will need to use your own research and judgement in your decisions on how to safeguard yourself regarding this bill. A good place to start is here.
