UK Feminista brings MPs and charities together to send message to Government
On Wednesday 25 March 2026, UK Feminista brought together parliamentarians and charities – including Barnardo’s and CEASE – outside Parliament to send a message to the Prime Minister: Government must accept and implement an amendment requiring all pornography websites to verify the age, permission & ongoing consent of everyone featured in content on their platform.
Right now, pornography websites do not have to verify that everyone featured on their platform is an adult or gave permission for the content to be published. Sites are also free to continue publishing pornography of people against their will, as there is no way to withdraw consent. The consequences are horribly predictable: mainstream pornography sites have repeatedly been found hosting content featuring child abuse, sexual violence and trafficking victims.
On 2 March, the House of Lords voted to end this safeguarding scandal. An amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill tabled by Baroness Bertin was passed, forcing all pornography websites to verify the age and ongoing consent of everyone on their platform. The amendment was previously tabled in the Commons by Jess Asato MP and backed by 60 MPs cross-party. Yet it still isn’t clear if the Government will try to remove the amendment from the bill.
UK Feminista has long campaigned for age and ongoing consent checks on pornography websites. In 2022, as Secretariat of the APPG on Commercial Sexual Exploitation, we supported the first amendment tabled to a UK Government bill proposing such a change, and we have been pleased to work alongside parliamentarians during the passage of the Crime and Policing Bill to ensure this reform finally becomes law.
Requiring age and ongoing consent verification on pornography websites is a basic yet vital safeguarding measure against child abuse and violence against women. So our message is clear:
Dear Keir, don’t ditch age and ongoing consent checks on pornography websites.
Find out more: read ‘Ten terrible arguments against safeguards on pornography websites‘.