The Verkhovna Rada has begun decriminalizing pornography in Ukraine

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine 14 July 2026 approved in the first reading bill No. 15294, which envisages the decriminalization of the voluntary creation and distribution of pornographic content among adults. 231 members of parliament voted in favor of adopting the document as a basis, 8 voted against, and 3 abstained.

The bill proposes to abolish criminal liability for the production, storage, transportation, sending, sale and distribution of pornographic materials among adults, if all persons depicted took part in the creation of the content voluntarily and gave consent to its dissemination.

At the same time, criminal liability will remain for the distribution of such materials to minors, coercing a person to participate in their creation, and the publication of intimate content without the consent of the person depicted. The document also provides for tougher penalties for the production and distribution of child pornography and the sexual exploitation of minors.

The adoption of the bill is intended to end the practice in which law enforcement officers themselves bought content from adult models in order to later use the purchased photos and videos as evidence in criminal proceedings. For this purpose, the police conducted controlled purchases, paid for subscriptions and ordered expert examinations of the materials.

At the same time, content creators and the OnlyFans platform itself paid taxes to the Ukrainian budget. In particular, 350 Ukrainian creators previously declared 305.4 million hryvnias in income and paid about 59 million hryvnias in personal income tax and the military levy. In 2025 the platform itself transferred about 66.6 million hryvnias in taxes to the Ukrainian budget.

Bill No. 15294 was registered on 3 June 2026 after the parliament on 28 May failed to gather enough votes to support the previous similar initiative No. 12191.

The document now needs to be revised and prepared for the second reading. The proposed changes have not yet come into force, so criminal liability for the distribution of pornographic content continues to apply for the time being.

Earlier we wrote:

• Decriminalization of porn: what exactly do they want to allow in Ukraine?
• Porn awaits a vote: the Ministry of Internal Affairs has already given the green light
• Security forces pursue adult content while serious sexual crimes remain a problem
• 40 million in taxes, and sex banned: what Zelensky answered the OnlyFans models
• While the state fines for 18+ photos, OnlyFans brings billions past the budget
• Will porn be legalized in Ukraine? New bill in the Rada