They want to see porn again.
A recently announced ban on websites that show pornographic content in Thailand has sparked protests both online and on the streets of the capital Bangkok.
Earlier this week, the country’s digital minister, Puttipong Punnakanta, announced that Pornhub and 190 other porn websites had been blocked as part of the government’s efforts to restrict access to porn and gambling sites, which are illegal under Thailand’s cybercrime laws.
As of Monday, internet users who tried to access any of the banned sites were directed to a warning page.
“This content has been suspended due to its illegal acts in accordance with the Computer Crime Act 2007… and/or the Gambling Act 1935,” a message on the page read.
According to the Thai news site The Pattaya News, on Tuesday a group of activists gathered in front of the Digital Ministry building in Bangkok to stage a protest against the porn ban, and overall censorship by the government.
Anonymous Party, a local activist group, posted an online statement saying, “We want to reclaim Pornhub. People are entitled to choices.”
The hashtag #SavePornhub also started trending on Twitter, with some users wondering if the ban was enacted to protect social morals, or if the real reason behind it was because Pornhub had some compromising images featuring members related to the royal family.
Emilie Palamy Pradichit, the director of the Manushya Foundation, a human rights organization that works to empower marginalized communities, said that the decision showed that Thailand was “a land of digital dictatorship, with conservatives in power trying to control what young people can watch, can say and can do online.”
According to the Thai Examiner, Bangkok is the world’s 10th largest market for Pornhub.
