The UK Just Banned Step-Family Adult Content By One Vote. LGBTQIA+ Creators Could Be Next
The United Kingdom’s House of Lords has voted to ban adult content depicting sexual acts between step-family members, and the margin was as close as it gets. The amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill passed 144 to 143 on 10 April 2026, making it a criminal offence to possess or distribute such material.
What the new law covers
Publishing adult content that depicts incest between biological family members, or sexual acts between step or foster relations where one participant is portrayed as under 18, now carries a prison sentence of two to five years. Possession of pornography depicting incest carries up to two years. Possession of material showing adults roleplaying as children can result in up to three years behind bars.
The amendment also sits alongside broader changes to the Crime and Policing Bill that would give regulators power to pursue senior executives at platforms failing to remove non-consensual intimate imagery.
So what’s the legal contradiction?
Under English and Welsh law, consensual sexual relationships between adult step-relatives are perfectly legal. Two consenting adults in a step-family relationship can sleep together without breaking any law. They just can’t film it.
That contradiction didn’t go unnoticed during debate. Members of the Lords raised questions about how authorities would distinguish between illegal depictions and lawful adult relationships in practice.
Who pushed for the ban
Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin led the campaign. Her independent review into pornography regulation, published in February 2025 with 32 recommendations, called for tighter controls on harmful and illegal online content.
“I greatly welcome the government’s plans to fully address harmful pornographic content, such as incest, step-incest and the mimicking of child sexual abuse,” Bertin said during the debate.
Minister Alex Davies-Jones, responsible for victims and tackling violence against women and girls, backed the amendment. “I’ve sadly heard far too many devastating stories from victims,” she said. “Tackling violence against women and girls within a decade will take every single one of us”
Why LGBTQIA+ communities should pay attention
When governments start drawing lines around what consenting adults can and can’t record, the question of where those lines end up matters. LGBTQIA+ content creators already face disproportionate content moderation on major platforms, and legislation like this sets a precedent for regulating sexual expression between legal, consenting partners.
