This article references rape and image-based abuse.
With any luck, you've never heard of – let alone searched for – so-called ‘incest porn’ or ‘semen-defaced images’. But trust me, they exist – and thanks to the tireless efforts of survivors, campaigners, and legal experts, they will soon be illegal.
Last night (23 February), the government quietly announced the banning of so-called ‘incest porn’, ‘semen-defaced images’, and screenshotting temporary intimate images without consent, via a series of amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill. This follows the introduction of new laws covering online safety, including the banning of ‘strangulation porn’, requiring age-verification for pornography sites, and introducing 48-hour take-down orders for tech companies hosting illegal intimate images – all of which Glamour has covered extensively.
While it's fair to say the government hasn't exactly been shouting about these new proposals (a spokesperson told Glamour there is no official press release due to the sensitive nature of the proposals), they represent a shift in how we use the internet and how the content we consume online can impact us in the real world. Here, we break down what the new laws actually mean, how they will affect you, and crucially, whether they will actually make a difference.
1. Incest porn
Incest porn refers to any sexualised content, or porn, depicting sexual activity between family members. And yes, this includes scenarios involving stepfamily members, which invariably involve ‘step’ fathers or ‘step’ brothers engaged in sexual acts with younger-looking women, often dressed to appear as girlish as possible. At the time of writing (24 Feb), a cursory search for ‘incest porn’ on Google – which I do not recommend – brings up results for sites with the following brags:
Family sex and incest porn in this category dedicated to perverse and taboo practices with the family, daddy, daughter, sister, mom.
Taboo porn tube focused on most popular family porn like brother and sister, mom and son, or daughter and daddy.
And perhaps most concerningly:
Watch featured forced and extreme sex scenes, unconsensual and group fucking.
The last example, by the way, is rape porn – or pornography depicting unconsensual sex – which has been illegal since 2015 in England and Wales (since 2010 in Scotland). A spokesperson for Google said, “Our systems are designed to surface high quality results that don't shock people with harmful or offensive content. While search engines index the content that’s available on the web, we are guided by local law and the decisions of courts when it comes to removing pages from our results and comply with valid legal removal requests.”
As Professor Clare McGlynn, a leading legal expert on violence against women and girls, wrote in 2025, “Porn consumed by millions necessarily shapes our social environment, and in turn our attitudes and sexual practices,” adding, “The prevalence of incest-themed content matters, as it normalises and legitimises ideas of sexual activity between family members – particularly involving young girls.”
She also points out that 500,000 children in England and Wales are sexually abused each year: “These are predominantly girls, with (step)fathers accounting for up to half of the perpetrators.”
It will soon be a crime to possess, share, or publish pornography depicting sexual activity between family members. This will be listed as a priority offence under the Online Safety Act, which means tech platforms must proactively take steps to remove this material before it is even accessed – the same way they must with online material relating to terrorism, selling weapons, and child sexual abuse. Glamour understands this does not cover pornography related to ‘step’ family members; only those depicted as blood relatives.
Those who are convicted of possessing incest porn face a maximum of two years in prison, while those found to be sharing it face a maximum sentence of five years.
Professor Clare McGlynn tells Glamour, “For too long, nobody has wanted to talk about the reality of what was on mainstream porn sites. This is beginning to change, and this new law could be a game-changer. But, it will only be the case if there is greater awareness about this change, and if it is enforced.
“Today I am hopeful, but I know there remains a long road ahead to make the changes that are absolutely needed to end the normalisation of incest and child sexual abuse that we see on mainstream porn sites.”
We’re all facing down the future of sexual violence in app form.
2. Semen-defaced imagery
Semen-defaced images – sometimes known as ‘tributes’ – involve the perpetrator ejaculating on a photo of someone else and posting it online. These can also include AI-generated images.
In June 2025, a Glamour investigation found evidence that Grok, X's AI-powered chatbot, generated imagery of Evie, a 21-year-old photographer, with “hot glue dripping down her face” in response to a user prompt, creating the appearance of a semen image. At the time, Evie told Glamour, “It's bad enough having someone create these images of you. But having them posted publicly by a bot that was built into the app and knowing I can't do anything about it made me feel so helpless.”
When we asked Grok why it had created this image, the AI chatbot denied creating or sharing it, saying it “likely [stemmed] from unauthorised tampering”. It suggested our screenshot could be a “spoof or a hack”. At the time, xAI did not respond to Glamour’s request for a comment. X has since implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing.
Since then, another Glamour investigation, led by Jess Davies, who was victimised by semen images at the age of 19 and again in 2026, found evidence that at least 50 women, as well as at least two minors, were victims of ‘semen images’ on TikTok.
At the time, a TikTok spokesperson confirmed that all accounts Glamour alerted to them were removed, saying, “This material is abhorrent and has no place on TikTok. We have zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and non-consensual intimate imagery, and we work continuously to prevent, detect and remove this content and ban the responsible accounts.
“We partner with NCMEC, including their Take It Down service, and StopNCII.org, to help remove intimate content and prevent it from being shared or reshared online.”
It will soon be illegal to share a semen-defaced image without consent (or the reasonable belief in consent). This will apply to real images as well as those generated artificially, and, crucially, to images of people, even if they are fully clothed. This offence carries a maximum sentence of six months imprisonment and/or a fine.
In a statement shared exclusively with Glamour, Victims and Tackling VAWG Minister, Alex Davies-Jones, said, “The work Glamour has done to highlight the prevalence of this misogynistic and degrading form of abuse is invaluable to victims and survivors. To anyone reading this, if you fall victim to this vile crime, report your abuser to the police, and know the law is on your side.”
It appears the offence does not cover the creation of such images.
Jess Davies tells Glamour, “Seeing my image defaced with semen and shared online as a nineteen-year-old felt extremely violating and eroded my sense of self-worth. Over a decade on, and I was once again forced to experience this harm, this time by someone using AI.
“This legislation is long overdue, but I welcome the government finally recognising the impact of semen images on victims and how these images fall under the umbrella of violence towards women online. It is now vital that the legislation covers the creation of these images to ensure perpetrators are not provided a loophole for their misogyny.”
The new offence – which includes AI-generated images – carries a maximum sentence of six months’ imprisonment.
3. Screenshotting temporary intimate images without consent
Screenshotting temporary intimate images without consent refers to images that are shared only temporarily, such as those with a disappearing function, like those on Snapchat or Instagram Direct Messages. This could also apply if someone screenshots an intimate image of another person without their consent on a FaceTime or video call.
It will be a criminal offence to screenshot an intimate image that has been shared only temporarily. The law will also be changed to ensure that victims will have six times longer to report a crime. The offence carries a maximum sentence of six months imprisonment and/or a fine. Finally, those who screenshot another person’s time-limited intimate image without their consent can be prosecuted for up to three years after the offence was committed.
Glamour understands that this does not apply to survivors taking screenshots of their own abuse – as they consent to the screenshot being made – or those taking screenshots to collect evidence on behalf of someone else, as this would likely fall under a reasonable excuse.
For more from Glamour UK's Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra or on TikTok at @lucyalexxandra.
“I contemplated stopping posting images of myself but I didn’t want to let the misogynistic trolls get their way."
