Ferguson urges Albanese government to criminalise strangulation pornography and regulate tech algorithms

Author Hannah Ferguson has called on the Albanese government to urgently criminalise pornography depicting strangulation and regulate big tech algorithms, following the death of a 16-year-old girl in Sydney’s northern beaches. The teenager was found unresponsive at a home, airlifted to hospital, and died two days later. New South Wales police are investigating the death as the result of a sexual strangulation act, with sources telling the ABC that the deceased may have experienced a seizure following asphyxiation and that officers were told the sex was consensual.

Ferguson argues that the prevalence of the act in mainstream pornography is normalising violence in intimate settings. She cites 2024 research published in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour, which revealed that 57% of Australians aged 18 to 35 had been strangled at least once during sex, while 51% reported strangling a sexual partner. The data suggests a widespread pattern that Ferguson believes current sex education is insufficient to address.

The call for legislative action is supported by recent health data. Denele Crozier, CEO of Women’s Health NSW, stated that there has been a 123% increase in women presenting with concerns of possible brain injury linked to strangulation since 2023. Ferguson contends that affirmative consent is difficult to achieve in these contexts, noting that many women may consent to the act to please a partner rather than for their own pleasure, a dynamic highlighted in a 2022 study cited by consent advocate Chanel Contos.

Social services minister Tanya Plibersek has expressed support for adopting UK-style legislation, introduced in 2025, which makes it a criminal offence to possess or publish pornography depicting suffocation or strangulation. Ferguson urges the government to move quickly on this matter, describing recent announcements from the national cabinet as weak. The cabinet meeting, where Prime Minister Anthony Albanese discussed violence against women and children with state and territory leaders, resulted in frameworks and reviews that Ferguson argues do not meet the urgency of the situation.

In addition to criminalising specific content, Ferguson advocates for the adoption of Chanel Contos’ “Fix Our Feeds” proposal. This pitch calls for regulating big tech companies to make algorithms an opt-in feature, introducing a consent-based model for user data. Ferguson points to Australia’s status as the first country to legislate a social media ban for under-16s as evidence of the government’s capability to regulate digital platforms effectively.

Ferguson’s submission follows a period of increased public discourse on sexual violence and digital influence. She argues that while messages encouraging parents to talk to their children are well-intentioned, conversation alone cannot combat the influence of sex content that depicts violence as standard. The author maintains that tangible legislative action is required to protect the safety of women and girls, urging politicians to meet the moment with effective reform.