The Philippines government has banned its citizens from accessing online porn in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s efforts to “clean up” Filipino society.
Adult sites such as Pornhub and Redtube are currently inaccessible in the country. Users will be directed to a page that reads “This website has been ordered blocked under authority of the Philippine government pursuant to Republic Act 9775 or the Anti-Child Pornography Law.”
Since his inauguration in June 2016, President Duterte has been determined to “clean up” Filipino society, cracking down on the Filipino drug trade. Censorship of online porn is consistent with the administration’s strict approach.
The age of consent in the Philippines is still 12 years of age.
Adult site Pornhub, who claim that Filipinos spent the most time on their site than any other nationality, have expressed their disappointment in the censorship. Vice President of the adult website, Corey Prince said, “Non-consensual and child pornography is strictly prohibited on Pornhub. It’s disappointing that Pornhub was blocked as it will just drive people to use less vetted, riskier, smaller websites. We’re open to working with government officials to meet their standards in the Philippines.”
A survey conducted by Pornhub earlier this month showed that Filipinos spent an average of 12 minutes and 45 seconds on the adult site – two minutes longer than South Africans, the next most avid viewers.
Saudi Arabia, China, Indonesia, Cuba, Iceland, Thailand, Egypt and Pakistan have also banned online porn sites.
