- England and Wales now criminalize possessing or sharing certain pornography depicting relatives or people pretending to be relatives.
- Courts can impose up to two years for possession and five for publication; the offense took effect November 6.
- First-cousin marriage remains legal, and cousins are also absent from the pornography offense’s relationship list.
What Happened
England and Wales now threaten prison for possessing or sharing certain incest-themed pornography, including roleplay between unrelated adults. First-cousin marriage remains legal, and the new pornography offense excludes cousins too.
Section 106 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 took effect November 6 under commencement regulations. It inserts sections 67E–67G into the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. Courts can impose up to two years for possession and five for publication, which includes making an image available to another person “by any means.”
The offense requires explicit, realistic depictions of penetrative activity involving people who appear real. A reasonable viewer, considering associated sound or information, must think they are “related, or pretending to be related” within specified categories, including siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.
Adult-only step-family roleplay is not automatically covered. The separate step/foster provision has an under-18 or pretended-under-18 condition. Prosecutions require the Director of Public Prosecutions’ consent, and statutory defenses include legitimate reasons and specified lack-of-knowledge circumstances.
Government guidance warns that keeping existing material after commencement can also constitute an offense.
The Ministry of Justice says the offenses target material normalizing harmful or illegal behavior. Marriage Act 1949 rules, separately, omit first cousins from prohibited blood relationships. The government confirmed that distinction in a 2024 parliamentary answer.
Sources & Related Reading
- Crime and Policing Act 2026, section 106: offense, defenses, penalties and priority-offense amendment.
- Commencement No. 4 Regulations 2026, regulation 2(c): November 6 commencement.
- Ministry of Justice guidance: offenses relating to pornography.
- Government pornography factsheet: platform duties and Ofcom enforcement.
- Marriage Act 1949, section 1 and Schedule 1, Part 1.
- Ministry of Justice parliamentary answer, November 11, 2024: first cousins excluded from prohibited relationships.
- First Cousins (Prohibited Relationships) Bill: Parliament’s bill record.
- Government announcement, April 10, 2026: ministerial and reviewer rationale.
