The Verkhovna Rada did not support the bill on the decriminalization of pornography in Ukraine
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine did not support the bill on decriminalizing the production and distribution of pornography involving adults. 207 people’s deputies voted for the document, out of the required 226. Five parliamentarians spoke against it, and another 60 did not vote.
The results of the vote were announced by Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and one of the authors of the bill. The document provided for the abolition of criminal liability for the import, creation, and distribution of pornography involving adults. Currently, such liability is provided for by Article 301 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the maximum sanction of which is up to seven years of imprisonment.
“In modern democratic Ukraine, adults will continue to be thrown in prison for 7 years for sending each other their nude photos. It seems like it’s 2026, and the majority of the Rada would still support the methods of the medieval inquisition,” Zheleznyak wrote.
The head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, Danylo Getmantsev, said that at the next session the issue will be brought to the session hall again. Probably, this is about another bill on the decriminalization of pornography.
“We will not stop in the fight against corruption and hypocrisy. The bill will be in the hall again at the next session,” Getmantsev said.
According to the data provided, about 1.5 thousand criminal proceedings are opened in Ukraine every year for the production of pornography with the participation of adults. A significant part of such cases does not concern organized activity, but the discovery of relevant materials during searches or their sale via Telegram.
The discussion around the draft law continues against the background of the contradiction between criminal liability for the production of pornography and the state’s requirement to declare and tax income from its sale.
