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Governments around the world are continuing to crack the whip on the adult entertainment industry, but as some complain about 'nanny states' where we lose our autonomy and free speech, others have cheered that some of the more 'disturbing' categories are being outlawed.
Although 2025 was a big one for the porn industry, that wasn't good news for the likes of Pornhub. While a December 2025 report from Semrush maintained that Pornhub is still the eighth most-visited site in the world, the adult entertainment Goliath has clapped back at new third-party age verification policies.
This has particularly affected those in the United Kingdom, and as of February 2, parent company Aylo cut off access for those who weren't already registered to its sites.
In the aftermath of Pornhub's ban in the UK, VPN usage has gone through the roof as the popular NSFW site maintains that its traffic has taken a hit. It's not just the UK that's felt the pinch, with Pornhub currently banned in over a third of US states and having dealt with bans in the likes of France and Italy.
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We previously reported on the UK government’s promise to reclassify 'strangulation’ pornography as a 'priority offense' that puts it on the same level as child sexual abuse and terrorism materials.
Pornhub already has a list of over 28,000 banned terms, but now, another has been added to the list.
As reported by LADbible, an amendment to the Online Safety Bill 2023 has placed a ban on 'incest simulation' in porn. For those who don't know, this is the kind of pornography where performers will pretend to be related. Whether that be brother and sister, mother and daughter, father and son, or any other kind of familial ties. The amendment covers not only actual acts of incest, but any fictional scenario featuring themes of incest.
Those caught in possession of incest pornography could be looking at a maximum two-year sentence, while anyone publishing these types of material could face up to five years.
Speaking to LADbible, Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Minister, Alex Davies-Jones, explained: "If we're going to make the online world safe, we need to get comfortable talking about the darker corners of abuse. We know that watching incest porn risks normalising child sexual abuse – and it's a risk we're taking seriously.
"We can't sit on this reality any longer, so we're making it an imprisonable offence to possess or publish incest porn.
"This is one of a string of changes by the government to root out evils online and send a clear message of zero tolerance.
“But tougher laws only matter if victims see justice in time. That’s why alongside these new offences, we’re fixing the courts so cases move faster.”
As part of LADbible's 'For F**k's Sake' campaign, 77% of the Gen Z generation admitted to watching pornography in some form, while 50% of the men asked agreed that porn is their main form of sex education.
Now, the government is making it clear that individuals and platforms alike are culpable here, with these latest changes coming in the aftermath of one site being fined $1 million for failing to implement the Online Safety Act's age verification rules.
Back when the strangulation ban was announced, Davies-Jones reiterated: "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."
In terms of enforcement, regulator Ofcom can charge sites that don't follow regulations up to 10% of their worldwide earnings or even apply for internet service providers to stop working with them.
