Authorities in India have ended free access to 857 porn sites to make it harder for children to access explicit material.
Access has not been completely blocked, and adults will still be able to look at porn if they use virtual private networks (VPNs) or proxy servers. The issue was raised in July when India’s Supreme Court bemoaned the inability to block certain sites, particularly those known to distribute child pornography, according to the BBC.
Block should be imposed in a few days
Although the move has been ordered, there will be a slight delay before it can be enforced by telecoms companies.
“We have to block each site one by one and it will take a few days for all service providers to block all the sites,” said an unnamed telecom company executive to The Times of India.
A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity to BBC Hindi, said India’s department of telecommunications had “advised” telecom companies and Internet service providers to “control free and open access” to 857 websites featuring explicit content.
“There is no total ban. This was done in the backdrop of Supreme Court’s observation on children having free access to porn sites. The idea is also to protect India’s cultural fabric. This will not prevent adults from visiting porn sites,” the official said.
“It is a temporary arrangement. The telecommunications depart will eventually come up with a long term policy [of controlling access] to these sites later,” he said.
Ban splits public opinion in India
India’s Supreme Court had previously admitted that it was not its responsibility to order a ban, and the government should be responsible.
“It is an issue for the government to deal with. Can we pass an interim order directing blocking of all adult websites? And let us keep in mind the possible contention of a person who could ask what crime have I committed by browsing adult websites in private within the four walls of my house. Could he not argue about his right to freedom to do something within the four walls of his house without violating any law?,” the court said.
India was the fourth largest source of traffic for Pornhub in 2014, according to data released by the website. Indians have take to social media to express their views on the ban.
Although many users have been using #pornban to criticize the move and its threat to the free use of the internet, many others have applauded the government for defending Indian culture from the onslaught of porn.
