Conservative peer Baroness Gabrielle Bertin has called on the British government to appoint a dedicated “minister for porn” in a bid to address what she describes as a growing crisis in online content regulation. Her remarks come amid the ongoing implementation of the Online Safety Act and new efforts to curb the spread of violent and degrading pornography on the internet.

Baroness Bertin, a member of the House of Lords and former adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron, has emerged as one of Parliament’s most vocal advocates for stronger regulation of adult content. She is currently leading the Independent Pornography Review Task Force, a newly formed body composed of law enforcement officials, anti-trafficking groups, and campaigners focused on violence against women.

In an interview with The Guardian, Bertin said the government “urgently” needs a minister responsible for online pornography to ensure the issue receives consistent attention, rather than being “passed reluctantly between the Home Office and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.” While she did not name a preferred candidate, she positioned herself as one of the few in Parliament willing to address the topic publicly.

“We’re really British about it, so we don’t want to have a graphic conversation about sex and porn,” she said. “But you’ve got to shout about it as loudly as possible.”

Bertin has been instrumental in shaping recent government policy. Her task force’s first recommendation to ban pornography depicting choking was formally adopted by the government in July. Additional proposals from her February 2025 review target adult content deemed violent, misogynistic, or harmful, especially to minors.

The peer is focused on closing what she calls a dangerous gap between the regulation of offline and online pornography. Content that would not pass British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) standards for cinema or DVD distribution is widely available online, she said, often with minimal restrictions.

“The absence of scrutiny has created an environment where much of the content created is violent, degrading, abusive, and misogynistic,” she told the outlet.

She added that online videos often include themes of incest, strangulation, and simulated child abuse, even if the actors involved are of legal age. Bertin recounted showing disturbing images to Science Secretary Peter Kyle during a recent meeting to illustrate the severity of the problem.

The Independent Pornography Review Task Force has drawn criticism for excluding adult industry representatives from its discussions. Bertin defended the decision, stating that she was “wary of anything that might let the industry mark their own homework.”

Earlier this year, advocacy group Free Speech Coalition (FSC) met with Bertin to contest what it called a predetermined crackdown on legal adult content. FSC Director of Public Policy Mike Stabile described the consultations as “often contentious,” accusing the review of being more about restricting sexual expression than addressing illegal content.

Despite acknowledging the adult industry’s history of technological innovation, Bertin maintains that regulation must be shaped by public safety, not industry influence.

“Consenting adults should be able to do what they want,” she said. “But restricting people from seeing a woman being choked, called a whore, and having several men stamp on her is not ending someone’s sexual freedom. This is the kind of content we want to end.”

The call for a porn minister comes as the Online Safety Act enters a critical enforcement phase. Last week, Ofcom announced that major porn platforms had agreed to implement robust age-verification measures, such as facial recognition and ID checks, to block underage access. Noncompliant platforms risk fines of up to 10% of global turnover or being blocked entirely within the UK.

Bertin’s task force will continue to examine issues such as AI-generated pornography, stolen content removal, and protections for individuals depicted in user-generated adult material. The group aims to present further recommendations by the end of the year.

Despite some backlash from civil liberties groups and industry stakeholders, Bertin insists her efforts are not about censorship but about building parity between online and offline protections.

“The reason why we’ve got into this mess is because nobody has really wanted to talk about it,” she said. “Now, we are.”