Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor has blocked access to Pornhub, the world's largest pornography website.
Pornhub.com appeared on the list of
websites blacklisted by the government censor on Tuesday. A
Russian court will rule whether the ban will remain in place at a later date.
Russia blocked the Russian page of Pornhub site last year, when a a court in the southern city of Krasnodar ruled that the website violated child protection laws. The court also ruled the site illegally produced and distributed pornography, a crime punishable by two to six years in prison.
Roskomnadzor stood by its 2015 ban despite a somewhat tongue-in-cheek social media backlash. When one Russian Twitter user asked Roskomnadzor: “If you block Pornhub, could you offer an alternative?”, The government watchdog's official Twitter account replied: “as an alternative, you could meet someone in real life.”
The Russian government has previously banned other popular sites, including online encyclopedia Wikipedia, in short-lived disputes. In addition, Youporn.com was blocked along with Pornhub.
