Members of the House of Lords voted 144 to 143 on March 2 to amend the Crime and Policing Bill. The change targets videos and images of sexual acts between step-relatives. Peers also aligned rules for intimate images of adults pretending to be children with those for actual children.

Baroness Bertin, who chaired a pornography regulation review last year, stated that roughly half of child sexual abuse cases in the UK involve step-parents. She argued that such depictions profit from illegal acts due to power imbalances in step-families. The content often features child-like settings and tags suggesting youth.

Justice Minister Baroness Levitt noted challenges in enforcing step-relative bans, as some adult relationships remain legal. She warned that broader rules could complicate police and court assessments of living arrangements or caregiving roles. The government added provisions banning possession or publication of pornography showing sex between blood relatives.

Peers approved 202 to 155 an amendment from Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge. It requires courts to order deletion of intimate images shared without consent in relevant convictions. They also backed 192 to 155 her proposal for a legal hashing system to track digital fingerprints of non-consensual intimate images.

The government included a ban on non-consensual screenshots or copies of temporarily shared intimate images. Baroness Levitt said this respects private sharing among consenting adults while addressing violations. Baroness Owen cited analysis of 98 revenge porn cases in English and Welsh courts over six months in 2024 and 2025, where only three led to deletion orders.

The bill awaits more debate in the Lords before both houses approve a final version to become law. The measures form part of wider UK efforts to regulate online harms, including child protection.