Russia Blocks World’s Biggest Porn Site

MOSCOW, September 15, 2015 (ChurchMilitant.com) - Russia has blocked access to the world's biggest pornography website. 

The communications watchdog arm of the Russian government, Roskomnadzor, announced in a statement Monday that a ban on the Russian edition of PornHub and ten other pornographic websites has been enacted in an effort to clamp down on unlawful pornographic content. A court ruling from the city of Krasnodar that determined the adult sites violated federal laws concerning the protection of minors from "harmful information" has been cited as the reason. 

A spokesman for the porn site in question released a statement saying the company "can confirm that Roskomnadzor has blacklisted Pornhub in Russia and [they] are currently investigating and considering available means to reinstate [the] website in Russia."  

Roskomnadzor cautioned in a statement Monday that the price for distribution of illegal pornographic content online can be a prison sentence of two to six years. Russia however is no stranger to porn censorship. In April this year Roskomnadzor announced that 136 adult sites were to be blocked.

But the restrictions aren't limited to smut: The Russian watchdog group temporarily banned both Wikipedia and social media site Reddit; both sites were reinstated after receiving Roskomnadzor-approved edits.

Additionally, Roskomnadzor announced last week via its VKontakte social network page that it was now also illegal to make Internet memes featuring exaggerated or fabricated caricatures of public figures. It cited a violation of Russian legislation on personal information in addition to besmirching "the honor, dignity and business reputation of public figures."