Government outlines punishments people will face for breaking new porn ban

The UK government has outlined what punishments individuals and tech firms will receive if they break the new porn ban.

In a bid to curb the rise in violence against women, it is now a criminal offence to possess or share strangulation or suffocation porn online.

Amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, which were brought before Parliament this week, will also see criminals found to have made or shared intimate images of people without their consent face prosecution up to three years after the offence; this is up from six months.

Speaking to LADbible about the groundbreaking change, the minister for victims and tackling violence against women and girls, Alex Davies-Jones, said those found to be in breach of the pornography ban would be dealt with severely, with huge fines for tech firms and even prison sentences.

"If, for example, X is showcasing this type of pornography that we deem to be unacceptable and illegal now, under the powers that we've introduced today, then Ofcom can go after the platform.

"And if they have proven to have failed to prevent that from being shown on the platform, then there is a fine for them of £18 million or up to 10 percent of global revenue, whichever is bigger; sadly we both know where that is in relation to some of these big platforms.

People found in possession of banned pornography could face up to two years in prison (Getty Stock Image)

"Under the Online Safety Act as well, where they've got a failure to prevent this type of material being shown to children, and ensuring there are protections to children, then there are also criminal sanctions backed up, so individuals can be held liable and there are criminal sanctions, with prison sentences available for named individuals who fail to take action.

"If you are in possession of this type of material, you could receive up to two years in prison, and if you choose to distribute this, so share it, post it online, it's up to five years in prison."

Data from LADbible's 'For F**k's Sake' campaign, which hoped to start an honest conversation in the UK around pornography, showed that 77 percent of Gen Z watch it.

The survey also found that an alarming 52 percent of young women believe porn reinforces sexual dominance among men, while 36 percent feel porn reinforces traits of violence or aggression.

This is the fourth time strangulation porn has been banned in the UK in some form, the previous law being introduced back in 2014, before it was eventually repealed five years later over issues of personal consent.

And Minister Davies-Jones says it's vital the government does what it can to reduce the harm being experienced by women and young girls across the country as a result of the proliferation of dangerous sexual content.

Tech firms will also be held accountable (Stock Getty Image)

"Strangulation is never safe, it can't be done safely," she explains. "It takes 150 seconds for a death to occur if you are strangling someone and they are unconscious, it's extremely dangerous.

"What we are seeing is the normalisation of strangulation and choking in pornography, which is online and having a real world, offline consequence. We are seeing reports of young boys asking their teachers how to choke their girlfriend during sex, and it has become something that is to be expected by individuals in a sexual relationship."

The government may not be done with bans, though.

Minister Davies-Jons says she and her team are 'looking closely' at the recommendations from Baroness Bertin’s Independent Porn Review, which found pornography has helped make strangulation become a ‘sexual norm’, and may implement further law changes.

She added: "Violent pornography and more extreme pornography is getting out of control and there is huge concern around what that content is doing, and the real world impact that content is having.

"So we are looking at those recommendations of the review closely and seeing if there is further action to be taken, but we will be evidence-led."