Backlash is a legal, academic and activist campaign defending consensual adult sexual freedoms in the UK and globally.
Backlash was formed in 2005 to challenge the Extreme Pornography offences in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2009; and has had organised and contributed to numerous successful protests, challenges to the law, and court cases since then.
Backlash Campaign History from 2005 to 2026
Crime and Policing Act 2026 – Backlash lobbied against the Extreme Pornography possession and publication offences, in 2026.
Online Safety Act 2023 – Backlash campaigned to defend adult sexual freedom of expression and privacy against state censorship, from 2019 to 2023.
Digital Economy Act 2017 – Backlash successfully campaigned against the implementation of mandatory age verification for adult websites, from 2016 to 2017.
The Obscene Publications Act 1954 – Backlash successfully campaigned to ensured that sexual activities that are legal to perform are legal to record and publish, in 2019.
Dreams of Spanking – Backlash successfully assisted Pandora Blake’s website to convince Ofcom that it was not subject to ATVOD censorship, in 2016.
Kink Olympixxx – Backlash protested against The Digital Economy Act 2017 introducing mandatory Age Verification for live adult webcams, in 2016.
Selfies – Backlash successfully campaigned for a change in the law to divert under 18’s out of the criminal justice system for taking and sending nudes of themselves, in 2014.
#Metoo – Backlash has assisted over 100 victims of serious sexual assaults and harassment in reporting these crimes to police in the UK and abroad, from 2014 to 2026.
AVMS Regulations 2014 – Backlash challenged the Audio-Visual Media Services Regulations and stopped the implementation of mandatory Age Verification, in 2014.
Urban Chick Supremacy Cell – Backlash successfully appealed ATVOD from removing the website from the internet and Ofcom exempted it from regulation, in 2014.
#TwinkTrial – Backlash successfully assisted in getting a CSAM prosecution dropped by proving all the images were of adults and not children, in 2013.
#Porntrial – Backlash successfully assisted in a trial for the possession of anal fisting images and Simon Walsh was found not guilty by a jury, in 2012.
#ObscenityTrial – Backlash successfully assisted in a trial for the publication of anal fisting images and Micheal Peacock was found not guilty by a jury, in 2012.
K Trial – Backlash successfully assisted in a test-case trial of the possession of roleplay horror images and the defendant was found not guilty by a jury, in 2011.
#TigerPorn – Backlash successfully assisted in having a prosecution for the possession of a fake tiger-sex image, in 2010.
CJIA 2009 Protest – Backlash protested in Parliament Square against the section 63 extreme pornography offences, in 2008.
CJIA 2009 Consultation – Backlash lobbied Parliament not to criminalise the possession of consensual adult images, from 2005 to 2008.