It has now been a month or so since the Duterte administration announced a plan block access to video porn sites.
The sites targeted included Pornhub and Xvideos, both of which I can still access on my PLDT home ADSL connection.
I can also still access both of the above from my mobile 4G connection, which is provided by Globe. I am left wondering what on earth is going on?
Interestingly sites like Chaturbate and Live Jasmine are also still accessible, although if you want to see any Pinays you need to use a proxy.
All of the major live cam sites do not give access to Philippine content from within the Philippines. Why is this?
It has nothing to do with government sponsored censorship. It is because performers on sites like this deliberately block people inside of the Philippines from seeing their shows because it is technically illegal to be involved in pornography in the country.
The apparent reasoning behind the ban on the video sites was to reduce the child pornography problem in the Philippines. In reality, these sites are not deliberate purveyors of kiddie porn. They’re a little bit like adult versions of YouTube.
In much the same way that YouTube does “its best” to limit copyrighted content these sites do “their best” to mitigate the child pornography problem. A worthy goal, and one which I fully support.
However, the great Philippine porn block seems to be a little limp-wristed. Especially considering that the country’s largest internet service provider continues to give its subscribers access.
At the end of the day, I personally do not feel that censorship is the answer to implementing state-defined morality.
If someone in the country is accessing child pornography, they have every right to be arrested.
If pornography is indeed an issue and it is the state’s desire to block access to it, then let the state go ahead.
That said, please, pretty please — don’t say you’re doing something when you’re not in order to score points with the media.
The Duterte administration’s porn block is the biggest piece of “fake news” I’ve ever come across, and we all know how they feel about that.