Possessing or publishing pornography showing strangulation or suffocation is to become a crime in the UK, the government announced Tuesday.
AFP reports: The plan follows an independent review which found that depictions of strangulation are rife online and that this had helped make the act a “sexual norm”, a government statement said.
Non-fatal strangulation is already a criminal offence in the UK, but it is not currently illegal to show it online.
These measures will help protect women and girls from online abuse, the government said.
“Viewing and sharing this kind of material online is not only deeply distressing, it is vile and dangerous,” technology minister Liz Kendall said.
“Those who post or promote such content are contributing to a culture of violence and abuse that has no place in our society.”
Tech platforms will be legally required to take “proactive steps” to prevent users from seeing such content, such as through moderation tools or stricter controls, the government said.
A separate amendment will extend the time limit for victims of intimate image abuse to report these crimes from six months to three years.
The UK implemented its Online Safety Act in July aiming to hinder youngsters from encountering content relating to porn as well as suicide, self-harm and eating disorders.
It requires websites and apps hosting potentially harmful pages and posts to implement age checks using measures such as facial imagery or credit cards.
Those found to be failing can face fines of up to £18 million ($23 million) or 10 percent of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater.