Chuckling, our UK laws have always been strict in regard to publishing, showing, making and selling pornography. I think even showing the erect male penis was against the law at one point although that does seem to be tolerated now.
When we became more aligned with Europe, it became a headache for legislators as I remember some of their porn channels which could be fed into our country were against British law.
The laws you mention, although it sounds new, is actually bringing the current laws up to date with the media now available like the internet.
The list you have provided are examples of “Extreme pornographic images” and it is an offence now to possess those images and you could be prosecuted and / or the offending material confiscated.
Child Porn has always been against the law.
These “new” laws are more about the pornography industry and the extreme kinks and are stricter now over persons possessing such material.
The idea behind it, is noble and has and always will cause controversy. The legislators goals are :-
a desire to protect those who participate in the creation of sexual material containing violence, cruelty or degradation, who may be the victim of crime in the making of the material, whether or not they notionally or genuinely consent to take part;
a desire to protect society, particularly children, from exposure to such material, to which access can no longer be reliably controlled through legislation dealing with publication and distribution, and which may encourage interest in violent or aberrant sexual activity.
Extreme is defined as
An act which threatens a person's life
An act which results in or is likely to result in serious injury to a person's anus, breast or genitals
An act which involves (or appears to involve) sexual interference with a human corpse
A person performing (or appearing to perform) an act of intercourse (or oral sex) with an animal (whether dead or alive)
Serious injury can be physical or psychiatric harm.
Every case is judged on its merits and requires the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Case law will no doubt define the way prosecutions are carried out and close any loop holes and clarify any acts that are challenged as extreme.
