Russia blocked the Russian page of Pornhub and other ten sites with pornographic content. Authorities say they violate the law on the distribution of adult content and that related to online child safety.

Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor has blocked access to Pornhub, the world's largest pornography website.

Pornhub.com appeared on the list of websites blacklisted by the government censor on Tuesday. A Russian court will rule whether the ban will remain in place at a later date. 

Russia blocked the Russian page of Pornhub site last year, when a a court in the southern city of Krasnodar ruled that the website violated child protection laws. The court also ruled the site illegally produced and distributed pornography, a crime punishable by two to six years in prison.

Roskomnadzor stood by its 2015 ban despite a somewhat tongue-in-cheek social media backlash. When one Russian Twitter user asked Roskomnadzor: "If you block Pornhub, could you offer an alternative?", The government watchdog's official Twitter account replied: "as an alternative, you could meet someone in real life."

The Russian government has previously banned other popular sites, including online encyclopedia Wikipedia, in short-lived disputes. In addition, Youporn.com was blocked along with Pornhub. 

In April, Roskomnadzor announced that it intends to block 136 websites with adult content.

Source: The Moscow Times