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How porn sites are bypassing the ‘ban’ in India

Porn sites are getting creative.

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While there has been no official word, Reliance Jio users and others have been complaining for some time that they are unable to access porn sites. Reddit users in India have observed that they are unable to access popular porn sites like Xvideos and Pornhub. Several Jio users have claimed that they are unable to access these sites.

One user wrote: “I've been trying to load a few of the porn sites but none of them seem to load on the Jio network. Is it just me or are you people facing the same issues.”

Many commented that Jio users ought to use a VPN, suggesting that the ban is local. Earlier, the government has directed Internet service providers to block 827 websites that host pornographic content following an order by the Uttarakhand High Court, according to official sources. While the Uttarakhand High Court has asked to block 857 websites, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) found 30 portals without any pornographic content.

Mirror, mirror on the wall

Now looking to bypass that ban, sites might be launching mirror websites which are exact replicas. 

Mirror sites exist to reduce traffic, improve access speed and improve availability in certain regions. They also serve as real-time backups. While most porn websites, like torrent sites, have mirror images to bypass geo-local bans, they are seldom officially sanctioned or mentioned.

But not Pornhub, which is increasingly popular in India. Looking to get past an unofficial ban on porn sites by some internet service providers like Jio, Pornhub.com has come up with a mirror website – a copy of the original site – to get past the ban.

The new site is called Porhub.net and the site’s Twitter handle announced its presence proudly.

Corey Price, VP at Pornhub told Vice: “We saw the news coming out of India and the commotion it was causing on social media (Twitter, Reddit, etc.) and wanted to be proactive about supplying our fans with our content. We know how often Indians peruse our site and wanted to act swiftly. It’s evident that the Indian government does not have a solution to a very serious and systemic problem in the country, and is using adult sites like ours as a scapegoat.”

He added: “For the government to ban sites like ours that have compliant parental controls, a non-consensual take down of the page and a strict Terms of Service is a disservice to the people of India, who have become one of the largest connoisseurs of adult content.”

Pornhub is known for coming up with creative solutions. In Russia, pornhub worked with authorities to implement the mandatory login to access their sites.  Russian citizens who wish to use porhub must register a telephone number and their passport number to access thes ite

India's ban

The government has directed Internet service providers to block 827 websites that host pornographic content following an order by the Uttarakhand High Court, according to official sources.While the Uttarakhand High Court has asked to block 857 websites, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) found 30 portals without any pornographic content.

Meity asked the Department of Telecom (DoT) to block 827 websites named in the list issued as part of the order, sources said. "... all the internet service licensees are instructed to take immediate necessary action for blocking of 827 websites as per the direction from Meity and for the compliance of the Hon'ble High Court order," the Department of Telecom said in an order issued to internet service providers.

The high court order was issued on September 27, 2018, and it was received by Meity on October 8. Meity informed the DoT that the Uttarakhand High Court has ordered for blocking 857 websites contained in an old notice of DoT dated July 31, 2015. The DoT had changed its order on August 4, 2015, to ISP saying that the ISPs are free not to disable any of the 857 web links which do not have child pornographic content.

 

 

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