Putin weighs in on porn site ban

A more desirable alternative needs to be offered for rooting out pornography, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said

While adult websites are a problem for Russia and worldwide, banning them outright is not the solution, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

The Russian leader held his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow on Thursday, combining it with the traditional ‘Direct Line’ question-and-answer session.

Pornographic websites are a problem for the country, he admitted, when asked about a potential ban on such content in Russia.

“Porn sites are watched, I think, all over the world. It's worldwide, it's not just our problem. It's a problem in a lot of other countries, too,” Putin said.

While in some cases bans can be an option, you need to provide people with a better alternative, he said.

Read more

“So that when someone gets on a porn site, they say: Look, I've seen all that, but now I want to see something different, something that's exciting, you know?” he joked, although he didn’t suggest alternatives.

In Russia, the production and distribution of pornographic material are considered criminal; offenders can spend up to 15 years in prison. However, private consumption of such content remains legal.

In 2021, the Main Radio Frequency Center, overseen by Roskomnadzor, suggested restricting access to pornography by requiring users to log in through the Gosuslugi government portal.