Bangkok: Thailand’s government said Tuesday it had banned ‘Pornhub’ and 190 other websites showing pornography. However, the decision to ban the porn websites has come in for severe criticism. There is social media anger over censorship of porn websites and a call for a protest against the decision.
Thailand’s digital minister Puttipong Punnakanta told reporters the block was part of efforts to restrict access to porn and gambling websites. He said that such content is illegal under the country’s cybercrime law.
Protests mount
But many Thai users criticised the decision to shut the site. ‘Pornhub’ is the top 20 list of daily traffic in Thailand. Also the country is known for its sex industry.
An activist group called ‘Anonymous Party’ posted a statement voicing their protest. “We want to reclaim ‘Pornhub’. People are entitled to choices,” the statement said. Another group, using the hashtag #SavePornhub, called a demonstration for Tuesday afternoon.
Officials of the ‘Pornhub’ website did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Questioning the decision
Some internet users asked whether the ban was about trying to protect Thai morals. They also said the ban has come because the site featured some compromising royal images.
Thailand’s government has faced months of youth and student-led protests demanding the removal of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. He is a former junta leader. The protests have also called for reforms to reduce King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s powers.
A hashtag that translates as #HornyPower is trending on Thai Twitter following the Pornhub block. The tweets are saying that the government would be facing greater opposition now beyond the protesters. “If someone doesn’t hate the current military government, now they probably do,” said a user named Jirawat Punnawat on Twitter.
Emilie Pradichit is director of the ‘Manushya Foundation’, which campaigns for digital rights. She said the decision showed Thailand was ‘a land of digital dictatorship, with conservatives in power trying to control what young people can watch, can say and can do online’.
