Ban misogynistic online porn, review proposes
Degrading, violent and misogynistic pornography should be banned, a review of the industry has recommended.
The review, commissioned by the previous government and headed by the Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin, urges ministers to give regulator Ofcom sweeping powers to police porn sites deemed to contain "harmful" material.
It proposes outlawing "degrading, violent and misogynistic content", including making it illegal to possess or publish pornography showing women being choked during sex.
Non-fatal strangulation is already an offence if someone does not consent but its depiction online is not illegal and the review finds it is "rife on mainstream platforms".
All porn sites must 'robustly' verify UK user ages by July
The 'incredible' number of UK adults watching porn
The review proposes that porn videos considered too harmful for any certificate in the offline world should be banned online.
Baroness Bertin argues that online pornography contributes to some of the "gravest issues in our society, from domestic violence to toxic masculinity to the mental health crisis among young people".
She told the BBC: "I'm not saying that people shouldn't watch porn. I'm not saying porn shouldn't exist. I'm not a prude."
However, her 32 recommendations on what government should do about the "high-harm sector" of legal online pornography are likely to initiate a debate about how far the state should police people's sex lives.
Baroness Bertin said online porn was not "properly scrutinised and regulated" in the same way as offline content.
"It strikes me as incredible that to buy a DVD, which sounds so sort of retro, the BBFC [British Board of Film Classification] has to put a stamp on it, has to check that certain standards have been met. That there's no sense you are encouraging child sexual abuse. No harmful, degrading, humiliating practices which is not through consensual roleplay," she told the BBC.
"You just have to go on the homepages of some of these mainstream sites and you will see of all that degrading content – particularly violent towards women – and it's all there for everyone to see."
Her report suggests pornography websites depicting the non-fatal choking of women during sex has normalised such behaviour in the real world, with violent and degrading material rife on mainstream platforms amid a "total absence of government scrutiny".
The review cites research suggesting that over a quarter of the nation regularly accesses online porn with a third of all men watching material at least once a week. It concludes that increasingly disturbing content is "rewiring" the way young people think about gender, sex and their role in society.
The Department for Science Innovation and Technology said it would look at the links the review highlighted.
"We have already announced we will ban the creation of intimate deepfakes without consent and from next month under the Online Safety Act platforms will have to proactively tackle illegal content including extreme pornography and sexual abuse material," the spokesperson said.
"But further action is needed to address the review's shocking finding that graphic strangulation is increasingly appearing in pornography, despite being illegal, and is becoming normalised in real life.
"We will urgently ensure that platforms, law enforcement and prosecutors take all necessary steps to tackle this disturbing harm."
Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme ahead of publication, said he would act to adapt the law if needed.
"I know that this content is harmful to many of the people who currently have free access to it.
"We have the powers to prevent people getting the access to it, even if the material is provided from elsewhere.
"We just need to find ways of making sure that that is done efficiently and effectively."
Baroness Bertin argues that her proposals for sweeping new controls in currently legal pornography online would prevent real-world violence against women and girls.
The review relates how a 14-year-old boy asked a teacher how to choke girls during sex and suggests online porn has created "such a confusing world for our sons".
"They are, quite rightly, encouraged and taught to reject sexist attitudes, while a subterranean online world of pornography is simultaneously showing them that anything goes," Baroness Bertin writes.
Ministers are urged to fund programmes for boys and young men which encourage positive masculinity and counter misogynistic culture.
The report quotes BBC research suggesting up to 38% of British women had experienced being strangled during intercourse, but notes that nearly half of those women wanted to be choked. "This is important in demonstrating freedom of sexual expression and its nuance," the review says.
Nevertheless, the report concludes that society has decided that "enough is enough" of harmful online pornography and its impact on young people.
Measures to increase regulation of pornography, including to prevent children accessing explicit content, are already part of the Online Safety Act, which became law in October 2023.
Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to read top political analysis, gain insight from across the UK and stay up to speed with the big moments. It'll be delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
US reviewing Aukus submarine pact as part of 'America First' agenda
The US has launched a review of its multi-billion dollar submarine deal with the UK and Australia, saying the security pact must fit its "America First" agenda. Under the trilateral pact, widely seen as a response to the growing power of China, Australia is to get its first nuclear-powered subs from the US, before the allies create a new fleet by sharing cutting-edge tech. Both Australia and the UK - which did its own review last year - have sought to play down news of the US probe, saying it is natural for a new administration to reassess. The move comes as Australia faces pressure from the White House to lift its military spending, from 2% to 3.5% of GDP, a push so far resisted by Canberra. The agreement - worth £176bn ($239bn; A$368bn) - was signed in 2021, when all three countries involved had different leaders. "The department is reviewing Aukus as part of ensuring that this initiative of the previous administration is aligned with the President's America First agenda," a US defence official told the BBC. "As [US Defense] Secretary [Pete] Hegseth has made clear, this means ensuring the highest readiness of our servicemembers, that allies step up fully to do their part for collective defense, and that the defense industrial base is meeting our needs." The review will be headed up Elbridge Colby, who has previously been critical of Aukus, in a speech last year questioning why the US would give away "this crown jewel asset when we most need it". Defence Minister Richard Marles, speaking to local Australian media on Thursday morning local time, said he was optimistic the deal would continue. "I'm very confident this is going to happen," he told ABC Radio Melbourne. "You just need to look at the map to understand that Australia absolutely needs to have a long-range submarine capability." Some in Australia have been lobbying for the country to develop a more independent defence strategy, but Marles said it was important to "stick to a plan" - a reference to the previous government's controversial cancellation of a submarine deal with France in favour of Aukus. An Australian government spokesperson told the BBC it was "natural" that the new administration would "examine" the agreement, adding the UK had also recently finished a review of the security pact between the long-standing allies. There is "clear and consistent" support for the deal across the "full political spectrum" in the US, they said, adding Australia looked forward to "continuing our close cooperation with the Trump Administration on this historic project". A UK defence spokesperson told the BBC it was "understandable" for a new administration to look at the deal, "just as the UK did last year". Aukus is a "landmark security and defence partnership with two of our closest allies", the spokesperson said, and "one of the most strategically important partnerships in decades, supporting peace and security in the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic".
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Southern Baptist public policy arm survives challenge to its conservative credentials
DALLAS — Southern Baptist representatives on Wednesday fended off two efforts to move the staunchly conservative body even more sharply to the right, giving a vote of confidence to its public-policy agency and defeating a proposed constitutional ban on churches with women pastors. The votes came just before the adjournment of the two-day annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jesus Cruz polished luxury cars at an LA car wash for a decade. Then ICE showed up
When immigration agents pulled up outside a Los Angeles car wash on a quiet Sunday afternoon, it sparked instant chaos. Some customers at the Westchester Hand Wash, which sits in the centre of a busy shopping area just blocks from the city's airport, froze as the officers in olive-green uniforms approached, CCTV footage obtained by the BBC shows. Two employees who spotted them ducked behind a luxury SUV they were wiping down with a rag. Another worker halfway through cleaning the back window of a car looked up. Then all at once they scattered and ran, some jumping over a nearby fence as agents raced after them on foot and in US Customs and Border Protection pick-up trucks. Agents came the following day to make more arrests. Jesus Cruz, who has worked at the car wash for more than a decade and lived in the US for more than 30 years, was among the six men who were arrested over the course of two raids. His wife, Noemi, told the BBC she was shopping with her daughter when she spotted a social media post about a possible raid. It included a photo of the car wash, so she dropped her daughter at home and raced there. By the time she arrived, however, she was too late. She has not been able to reach her husband since. "You are so used to having a partner there, just to help you out, to be the backbone… now it's like - how am I going to do it?" she said. "My husband has no criminal background. He's never gotten a ticket before. We pay our taxes. We're up to date on everything." The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not respond to an inquiry about Mr Cruz's legal status or the goal of the operation at the car wash. The raid at the car wash, and similar ones across Los Angeles, represent a significant escalation in the White House's strategy to round up and deport undocumented migrants. On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump repeatedly said he would prioritise deporting noncitizens accused of violent crimes. That promise received widespread support, even among Hispanic immigrant groups. But in recent weeks, the administration has stepped up its targets, pushing to increase their arrests from about 660 to 3,000 a day. To do that, they have widened their net, targeting not just criminals but workplaces where many undocumented workers do jobs that are vital for the economy - from farming to factory work - and pay taxes. "Just go out there and arrest illegal aliens," Stephen Miller, a top White House adviser, reportedly told Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials before they launched the recent LA raids. According to the Wall Street Journal, he told them they did not need to produce target lists of suspected illegal immigrants, a longstanding practice, and should instead raid major businesses to arrest as many as possible. Car-wash owner Mehmet Aydogan said the agents did not ask for IDs before placing the men in handcuffs and swiftly driving them away. "They were not doing anything criminal," he said, noting the raids were quick and lasted less than a minute. "Everyone is hard working." Days earlier, another operation at Ambiance Apparel, a clothing wholesale business in the Fashion District near downtown LA, had set the city on edge. More than a dozen people were arrested, witnesses said, although DHS did not respond to a BBC inquiry about this operation and the total number of arrests. Border tsar Tom Homan denied that agents were conducting an immigration raid at Ambiance. He said it was a criminal investigation that also uncovered undocumented immigrants. "I said it from day one: if you're in the country illegally, you're not off the table," he told the New York Times recently. Enrique Lopez was one of several witnesses who started posting on Instagram about the operation, before a large group of protesters formed outside, trying to prevent the workers from being taken away. Officials eventually deployed flash bangs and tear gas to push past the crowd - one of the first protests in the LA area as the spate of immigration raids kicked off. "It's sad that it's hardworking people," he said about those arrested. "And they're trying to make it seem like it's bad people." Protests first broke out on 6 June, with confrontations between demonstrators and federal agents in the streets, before spreading more widely and at times turning violent. Hundreds have been arrested and an overnight curfew in one area is being enforced. Immigration enforcement agencies have said the protests will not deter their operations. President Trump has deployed the national guard and US Marines to help ensure the immigration crackdown continues. These raids have hit Los Angeles County especially hard, where estimates suggest more than 900,000 people do not have legal status, about 10% of the population. Hispanics here outnumber any other ethnic background by a large margin - and many in the community who are citizens or legal residents have family who are undocumented. "I can't emphasise enough the level of fear and terror that is in Angelenos right now," the city's Mayor Karen Bass said at news conference. "Not knowing if it's tomorrow or tonight. It might be where they live. It might be their workplace. Should you send your kids to school? Should you go to work?" Social media has been used to inform communities about sightings of immigration authorities, but also to spread misinformation. The unease caused one local minority non-profit to urge undocumented people to just stay out of sight. It offered volunteers to run errands or go grocery shopping for families so they can remain indoors. Residents say it's a mystery when and where immigration officers will show up next. Immigration agencies do not typically announce where raids have happened, nor do they announce all arrests or where detainees are being held or jailed - adding to the anxiety. But what exactly comes next as raids continue is still unknown. Raids nationwide in recent days have netted hundreds of arrests, including recent operations in agricultural sectors and a meat-packing plant in Nebraska. In response, protests have spurred in all corners of the country - including in major US cities like New York, Dallas, Washington and Boston. "California may be first - but it clearly won't end here," California Governor Gavin Newsom said in an evening address on Tuesday. "Other states are next." Immigration attorney Karla Navarrete, who is representing multiple people who have been arrested in the immigration sweeps, said the mass arrests have overwhelmed the system. Databases aren't being updated with arrests, families and lawyers cannot find those who have been detained and when they do the person sometimes is in a different state or has already been deported to another country. Ms Cruz, whose husband was arrested at the car wash, said she learned late on Tuesday that he was no longer in Los Angeles, or even the state of California. She learned through her lawyer that he is being held at a detention centre in El Paso, Texas, more than 800 miles (1,300km) from their home. Her youngest child - a five-year-old boy - is having the hardest time with the change, she said. "He just keeps asking for his dad. I don't know what to tell him," she added, through tears. "He doesn't understand what is going on. He still thinks his dad is at work."
