BANGKOK — True Online said Monday it restricted access to PornHub website, drawing ridicule from netizens.
True Online, the broadband home internet service arm of the communications conglomerate True Corporation, confirmed its policy in a Twitter thread, the first official recognition of what many Thais already knew.
“We have restricted access to PornHub because it has inappropriate content,” the company tweeted Monday in response to a customer’s question.
เน็ตทรูจำกัดการเข้าถึงเว็บ pornhub บล็อกการให้บริการเว็บที่มีคอนเทนท์ไม่เหมาะสมค่ะ
— TrueOnline (@true_online) May 25, 2020
It’s no secret that Thai internet providers employ a method of censorship that would have caused riots in the Western countries: blocking pornographic content involving consenting adults and any other material ordered by the authorities.
Thai internet law also criminalizes dissemination of pornography, as well as false information and contents deemed to threathen national security, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail or a maximum fine of 100,000 baht.
Netizens reacted to the company’s statement with mockery, while many resorted to the traditional way of expressing internet outrage – calling for a boycott of True.
“True Online, can’t we be horny?,” user @S0ME1FAIR tweeted.
“The point is not whether PornHub is moral or immoral, but what rights allow True to decide whether it is appropriate?” @_wawao tweeted.
In response to the netizens’ fury, the company later walked back its statement a few hours later, saying that the website was not indeed blocked.
“The admin would like to apologize for misinformation. The website is not blocked. If you have any problems accessing it, please contact us for further inspection,” the company tweeted.
However, some users reported that the website is still inaccessible as of Tuesday.
