On Tuesday the government banned Pornhub and 190 other websites showing pornography, prompting outrage among social media users over censorship and protests against the decision.
Thailand’s Digital Minister Puttipong Punnakanta said the decision was part of the efforts to restrict access to porn and gambling websites which were deemed illegal as per the cybercrime law.
But most users trended the #SavePornhub hashtag on Twitter and criticized the closure of the websites in a country that was among the Top by daily traffic for Pornhub in 2019 in 2019 and which hosts a globally-known sex industry.
Pornhub said Thai users spent more time on the site last year, at 11 minutes and 21 seconds than any other country in the world.
“We want to reclaim Pornhub. People are entitled to choices,” An activist group called Anonymous Party said as reported by CNN.
Several activists protested the block outside the digital ministry, holding banners saying “free Pornhub” and “reclaim Pornhub” according to CNN.
Pornhub did not reportedly respond immediately to a request for comment.
Internet research firm Top10VPN reportedly said it saw an increase in searches from Thailand for Virtual Private Networks (VPN), which help circumvent censorship, by 640% compared to the September-October daily average, after Pornhub was closed late on Monday.
Some protestors questioned whether the ban was about trying to protect Thai morals, or because the site showed some compromising royal images.
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A hashtag that translates as #HornyPower trended on Thai Twitter following the Pornhub block, accompanied by comments or memes that the government could face greater opposition now beyond the protesters as reported by CNN.
CNN quoted Emilie Pradichit, director of the Manushya Foundation, which campaigns for digital rights, saying the decision showed 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.”
