Is my adult content legal?

By Yair Cohen, Solicitor specialising in internet law. Updated 4 October 2026.

This guide is part of our pornography and adult content law section.

If you make or sell adult content, or you run a site that hosts it, there may come a moment when you look at something in your catalogue and wonder whether it crosses a legal line. This article is for that moment. For most creators the answer is reassuring: explicit is not the same as illegal, and the law draws its lines much more narrowly than many people fear. A few kinds of content are illegal, and new offences have been passed that will widen that list, so it is worth knowing where you stand. We explain where the lines are now, what is coming, and what to do if a platform, a payment provider or the police has already been in touch.

Explicit is not the same as illegal

Let us start with the point that reassures most of the people who come to us. Pornography made by and for consenting adults is legal in the UK. The main test is in section 1 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959: material is only obscene if, taken as a whole, it tends to "deprave and corrupt" the people likely to see or hear it. Graphic, taboo or shocking is not the test. Plenty of content that would make a jury blush falls well short of it.

The Crown Prosecution Service's guidance on obscene publications makes the practical position clearer still. Prosecutors will not usually bring a case where the activity is consensual, causes no serious harm, is not tied to other crime, and the likely audience is adults. Content showing criminal conduct is a different matter, and is likely to be treated as obscene. Publishing obscene material carries up to five years in prison under section 2, but in practice prosecutions are rare and usually follow a complaint or another investigation.

What is illegal now

A small number of categories are illegal whoever the audience is, and these are the ones to be clear about. Possessing an "extreme pornographic image" is an offence under section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. That covers realistic images of acts that threaten someone's life or are likely to cause serious injury to the anus, breasts or genitals. It also covers sex with a corpse or an animal and, since 2015, rape and other non-consensual penetration. Publishing that kind of material is also likely to be obscene.

Anything involving someone under 18 is illegal in every form, with no grey area. Under the Protection of Children Act 1978, that includes edited and computer-generated images where the impression given is that the person shown is a child. Sharing intimate images of anyone without their consent is a separate crime under section 66B of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

One newer offence catches people out. Since 29 June 2026, making or supplying a tool designed to create fake intimate images of real people, sometimes called a "nudify" app, has been a crime under section 66I of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. If your platform offers AI image tools, have a look at what they can do before someone else does.

New offences on the way

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 creates three new image offences, each covering both possession and publishing. They are pornographic images of strangulation or suffocation (section 104), of sex between relatives, including some step and foster relationships (section 106), and of sexual activity with someone who is, or is pretending to be, under 16 (section 107). The last of these does not catch performers where it is fanciful that they are actually under 16.

As we write, none of these is in force yet; each starts on a date the government sets. That is good news in one way, because it gives you time to look through your catalogue calmly rather than in a hurry later. One word of caution, though: platforms and payment providers usually tighten their own rules before a new law starts, so the practical effect can land on you sooner than the legal one.

Audio and written content

We are asked about audio a lot, partly because so many creators have moved into it. The Obscene Publications Act covers sound recordings and written material as well as images, under section 1(2), so the same "deprave and corrupt" test applies to audio and text. The extreme image offences, and the three new 2026 offences, are about images only. An audio file on its own is not an image, but sound that accompanies a video can be taken into account when the images are judged.

Audio is not a free pass on age checks, though. If you publish pornographic audio to people in the UK, the age check rules apply to it just as they do to video. Our guide to age verification for adult websites explains what those rules require.

Keeping your catalogue on the right side of the line

Most of the creators and businesses who ask us this question are in a better position than they think, and the steps that protect you are practical ones rather than legal ones. Check that everyone who appears in your content is over 18, and keep a copy of their ID and their signed consent. Our guide is a release form by porn film actor valid explains what makes consent hold up. Put a proper age check in front of your content. Keep extreme or edge themes out of free previews and away from audiences you cannot verify, and where role-play is involved, make the consent clear within the content itself.

Then look through your catalogue against the categories above, including the three new ones, before they start. Where something sits close to a line, a short review by someone who knows this area of law can settle it, and in most cases the answer is a small change, not taking a whole collection down.

Explicit is not the same as illegal. The question the law asks is much narrower than most people fear.

If a platform, payment provider or the police has been in touch

Please do not panic, and please do not start deleting things in a rush. A platform warning or a frozen payment account can feel like the end of a business, but in our experience it is usually the start of a conversation that can be won. We look at the content concerned and the rule the platform says it breaks, and we write back setting out why the content is lawful and, where needed, what will change. A clear legal response is usually enough to get an account restored or a decision reviewed.

If the police contact you, take legal advice before you answer any questions or hand anything over. Deleting material after you know of an investigation can make things much worse, even where the material itself was lawful. This is something we can help with directly. Two of our senior lawyers, Yair Cohen and Paul Greenberg, spent the first part of their careers in criminal defence, with some 50 years of it between them and some of the toughest cases of their day, and both are accredited duty solicitors under the Law Society's Criminal Litigation Accreditation Scheme, which means they can represent you at the police station. These days they take on criminal defence work only where it meets internet law, and a question about adult content, online reputation or a case that could do you reputational harm is exactly that. It is one part of the whole range of internet law help we offer, so if the police do get in touch, you can call us before you say anything, and we will be there with you.

Frequently asked questions

Is pornography legal in the UK?

Yes. Pornography made by and for consenting adults is legal. What is illegal is a narrower set of material: obscene content, extreme pornographic images, anything involving under-18s, and intimate images shared without consent.

What does "obscene" mean in law?

Under section 1 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959, material is obscene if, taken as a whole, it tends to deprave and corrupt the people likely to see or hear it. Graphic or shocking content does not meet that test on that basis alone, and the Crown Prosecution Service does not usually prosecute consensual adult content with no serious harm and an adult audience.

Is audio or written erotica covered?

The Obscene Publications Act covers sound recordings and written material, but the extreme image offences and the new 2026 offences apply to images only. Pornographic audio still needs an age check if it is published to people in the UK.

Is content showing choking illegal now?

The new offence of possessing or publishing pornographic images of strangulation or suffocation, in section 104 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026, is not yet in force. Content showing asphyxiation that causes unconsciousness may already be treated as obscene, so it is worth reviewing that material now.

Is step-family or age role-play legal?

Role-play between adults is generally lawful today, but two of the new 2026 offences will cover images of sex between relatives, including some step relations, and images of someone pretending to be under 16. Any image that gives the impression of a child under 18 is already illegal. Review this kind of content before the new offences start.

Do I need to check the ages of everyone in my content?

Yes, in practice. Images of anyone under 18 are illegal, and believing a performer was older is not a reliable defence, so keep a copy of each performer's ID and signed consent, and keep the records for as long as the content is available.