Sir Keir Starmer has backed a ban on ‘abhorrent’ online porn depicting step-relatives and adults role-playing as children.
The U-turn by the prime minister comes after government had previously resisted banning ‘step incest’ videos because many real-life relationships between adult step-relatives are not illegal.
But it has now changed tack after a threat to rebel by a group of Labour MPs, despite fears it will be tough to enforce.
The Ministry of Justice said that possessing and publishing porn showing incest between family members and sex between step or foster relatives where one person pretends to be under-18 would be a crime.
Anyone caught doing so could face up to five years in prison, according to the new rules.
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Jess Asato, the Labour MP for Lowestoft, said: ‘After many years of campaigning to ensure online pornographic content is subject to the same rules as offline content, I am delighted the government has announced these clear changes to our law.
‘Step-incest pornography and that which depicts performers as children is abhorrent.
‘Alongside banning strangulation in pornography which the government previously announced, tackling this vile content will make our country a safer place for women and children and shows the UK can lead the world in tackling violence against women and girls.’
It comes after the House of Lords voted to back including step-incest in a wider ban on harmful online content, in an amendment to laws that ministers had put forward.
That vote meant the government would have to go to the House of Commons to overturn the amendment, but faced a potential rebellion by the group of Labour MPs who threatened to vote against their own party.
Ministers will also probe how porn sites make sure the people featured in their videos are consenting and old enough to do so, in a review that will also look into whether it could let people withdraw consent they had previously given.
The review will look into whether it could bring in break clauses in people’s consent contracts, reported Sky News.
The government has already made porn that shows women being choked illegal, after a review found videos like these had helped normalise it in real life.
Alex Davies-Jones, the justice minister, said: ‘I’ve sadly heard far too many devastating stories from victims and I know we need change now. Tackling violence against women and girls within a decade will take every single one of us.
‘We have been clear that vile online pornography has real-life consequences for all of us and I’d like to thank every brave campaigner who has worked with us to deliver this vital step.
‘Today, we are sending a powerful message: we will stamp out misogynistic and harmful content online and create a safer world.’
Ministers are also planning to make tech bosses personally liable if their platforms do not remove intimate pictures of people that are posted without consent.
Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, said: ‘Too many women have had their lives shattered by having their intimate images shared online without consent.
‘This government is uncompromising in our mission to protect women and girls online, and we have taken action to stop tech firms from publishing this abusive content.
‘In February, we told platforms that they must remove reported non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours.
‘Now we are going further by introducing measures meaning that senior tech executives could be criminally liable if their companies fail to act when required to do so by Ofcom.
‘Protecting women and girls online is not optional, it is a responsibility that sits squarely with every tech company’s leadership.”
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