The Audiovisual Media Services Regulations 2014 is a

statutory instrument In many countries, a statutory instrument is a form of delegated legislation. United Kingdom Statutory instruments are the principal form of delegated or secondary legislation in the United Kingdom. National government Statutory instrument ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

that applies regulations to R18-rated

pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

that is available through

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

or other streaming platforms. Prior to the regulations coming into force, neither

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

nor the

British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...

(BBFC) had jurisdiction over such content. , these regulations were made by the Secretary of State in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. The regulations originally prohibited the depiction of a number of specific sexual acts in online pornography based in the UK. In 2019 the regulations were changed after a review of obscenity laws, legalising the depiction of these acts provided they are performed consensually, do not harm the participants and are unlikely to be viewed by anyone aged under 18.

Content

British obscenity law prohibits obscene publications, including pornography that may seriously harm the performer or threaten their life. Prior to the regulations coming into force, online pornography was not subject to the same regulations as pornography available for purchase in sex shops; the intention of the regulations was to create a parity between the two forms. Material that was already banned by the BBFC in home video – and therefore restricted under the regulations – included: *

Sadomasochistic Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...

material going beyond the "trifling or transient" infliction of pain or injury. *

Physical restraint Physical restraint refers to means of purposely limiting or obstructing the freedom of a person's bodily movement. Basic methods Usually, binding objects such as handcuffs, legcuffs, ropes, chains, straps or straitjackets are used fo ...

which prevents participants from indicating a withdrawal of consent. * Urolagnia *

Erotic asphyxiation Erotic asphyxiation (variously called asphyxiophilia, hypoxyphilia or breath control play) is the intentional restriction of oxygen to the brain for the purposes of sexual arousal. The term autoerotic asphyxiation is used when the act is done b ...

Facesitting Facesitting, also known as queening or kinging, is a sexual practice with one partner sitting over the other's face, sometimes allowing for oral–genital or oral–anal contact. The sitting partner may face in either direction. The position a ...

* Fisting The

Department for Culture, Media and Sport , type = Department , logo = Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport logo.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Gove ...

defended the regulations by stating that the BBFC's R18 certificate was a "tried and tested" method of protecting children, and highlighted the need for consistency in regulation. Peter Johnson, the chair of the Authority for Television On Demand (ATVOD), stated that he believed unregistered material from overseas would violate the

Obscene Publications Act 1959 The Obscene Publications Act 1959 (c. 66) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom Parliament that significantly reformed the law related to obscenity in England and Wales. Prior to the passage of the Act, the law on publishing obscene mater ...

, and credit card payments to premium sites would be able to be blocked.

Protests

Upon going into force on 1 December 2014, the regulations were subject to immediate criticism, much of it arising from the debates around female ejaculation. A ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

'' interview with BBFC officials indicated that apparent female ejaculation was regularly cut due to restrictions on urolagnia, and the difficulty of distinguishing what could be female ejaculation from straightforward urination. A blog for the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'' highlighted that many of the activities were popular in the

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

and

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...

communities or related to expressions of female sexuality.

Myles Jackman Myles Jackman is an English lawyer who specialises in defending cases related to pornography. Jackman was born at Basildon Hospital, where his father, a consultant radiologist and his mother, Susan, a radiology technician, worked and met. He ...

, an obscenity lawyer, expressed concerns that the regulations set a dangerous precedent and described pornography as " the canary in the coal mine" of

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

. The regulations were subject to a protest by opponents in

Parliament Square Parliament Square is a square at the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster in central London. Laid out in the 19th century, it features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and it contai ...

on 12 December 2014, organised by sex worker and

Clacton by-election The 2014 by-election for the House of Commons constituency of Clacton in Essex, England, took place on 9 October 2014. The by-election was triggered by the Conservative MP for Clacton, Douglas Carswell, defecting to the UK Independence Party (UK ...

candidate

Charlotte Rose Charlotte Rose is an English sex worker, dominatrix, sexual trainer and political candidate from Nottingham, who lives in London. In 2013 she won the award of "Sex Worker of the Year" at the Sexual Freedom Awards where she is now a resident judge ...

, which included a mass demonstration of facesitting and singing of the

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...

song "

Sit on My Face "Sit on My Face" is a short song by the members of the comedy troupe Monty Python which originally appeared on the album ''Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album'' and later appeared on the compilation ''Monty Python Sings''. Written by Eric ...

". One protest sign read, "Urine for a shock if you expect us to stop." Rose and other female erotic performers expressed concern that the regulations were approved without a vote or public consent, and that the changes could be indicative of further changes to obscenity law. In response to the controversy,

Julian Huppert Julian Leon Huppert (born 21 July 1978) is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom and former Member of Parliament for Cambridge from 2010 to 2015. He succeeded David Howarth, who stood down after one term as an MP. At the 2015 gene ...

, the

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

MP for

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, laid down an

Early Day Motion In the Westminster parliamentary system, an early day motion (EDM) is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by members of Parliament that formally calls for debate "on an early day". In practice, they are rarely debated in the House a ...

seeking a debate to annul the regulations, which was signed by fellow Lib Dem MPs David Ward and John Leech, and independent MP Mike Hancock. Huppert stated that any regulations on sex or pornography should be based on issues of consent or risk and not "moral objection. Huppert's EDM also received support from

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

and Lib Dem leader

Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British media executive and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who has been president for global affairs at Meta Platforms since 2022, having previously been vicepr ...

, who stated that politicians should not be in a role to judge anybody's sexual behaviour, and that supporting sexual freedom was a "classic liberal assertion".

Feminist opposition

Following the December 2014 face-sitting protest outside of Parliament, the feminist magazine ''

Bitch Bitch may refer to: * A female dog or other canine * Bitch (slang), a vulgar slur for a human female Bitch or bitches may also refer to: Arts and media Film and television * ''The Bitch'' (film), a 1979 film starring Joan Collins * ''Bitc ...

'' criticized the regulations for censoring women's sexuality on the basis that " e laws seem to specifically target acts that prioritize female pleasure or indicate female dominance."Scott 2015. The article pointed out the double standard in permitting men—but not women—to assume a dominant position during oral sex acts, and accused the regulations of perpetuating the sexual subordination of women in porn by writing pornography's gender bias into law. Its author Catherine Scott explained: Pandora Blake, webmaster of the BDSM-themed site Dreams of Spanking, insinuated that the sites shut down for failure to comply with the regulations "have been gay sites and female domination. No BDSM sites with female submissives have been targeted because that omen's subordinationis apparently fine."

Notes

References

* * * * * * * *Scott, Catherine (2015). "Banning Cheek to Cheek: Are the U.K.'s new porn laws anti-woman?", ''Bitch''. Spring 2015. {{British pornography 2014 in British law BDSM Censorship of pornography Statutory Instruments of the United Kingdom United Kingdom pornography law Internet censorship in the United Kingdom