MOSCOW, Sept. 15 (UPI) — The Russian government has taken a firm stand against the rampant availability of Internet pornography to its citizens.
Moscow, specifically media watchdog Roskomnadzor, on Wednesday announced it has extended bans on at least two adult sites — and, perhaps as expected, some Russians aren’t happy about it.
The extension follows two judicial rulings in recent weeks that the sites “spread pornography” that is detrimental to the development of children. The bans were first implemented on 11 porn sites last year.
In addition to an avalanche of criticism on social media Thursday, the Russian media watchdog also received an offer of a free premium account by one of the banned sites — which it promptly declined.
“Sorry, we are not in the market and the demography is not a commodity,” Roskomnadzor answered.
While the prohibition has been roundly panned, some advocates believe the move is a positive action to defend family values and the safety of children from a wildly unregulated Internet porn landscape.
Last year, Roskomnadzor responded to one critic by telling them, “as an alternative you could try and meet someone in real life.” Thursday, the watchdog said that advice is “still relevant.”
Roskomnadzor said the ban could be lifted only after a total revamp of the sites, one news agency reported.
In recent years, the Russian government has issued temporary bans on various adult Internet sites.
