Global Media News

Thailand Banning Porn

Thailand banned Pornhub and several other porn and gambling sites in November of 2020. These sites are against the law in Thailand and are considered cybercrimes.  However, these sites  have been around for years. Why is the government taking action now? Is there is more going on here?

Thailand is no stranger to the sex industry. Both human trafficking and mass prostitution are a concern.  The government has set up minimal reforms to reinforce the laws. But do these laws also censor critical views of the government?

The Cybersecurity Act B.E. 2562 is a series of laws that regulates the internet in Thailand.  There are different categories of website and each website must be categorized to meet secure requirements. There is no place for porn in this law. 

Thai people watch a lot of porn. CNN reported that "According to Pornhub, Thai users spent more time on the site last year, at 11 minutes and 21 seconds, than elsewhere in the world." 

Pornhub has been silent on the ban so as to not criticize any government.

The Thai Digital minister Puttipong Punnakanta explained that  "the block was part of efforts to restrict access to porn and gambling websites, adding that such content is illegal under the country's cybercrime law." according to The Tribune, an Indian newspaper.

Why did the government ban Pornhub now? There are several reasons. Firstly, Pornhub has insulting video and photos of their Royal Family, and secondly, there have been viral videos of Thai protestors being hosed down. Neither of these stories would be allowed on the news in Thailand.

The timing of the ban is crucial to understanding the possible motives the Thai government may have for enforcing this ban. The ban is occurring during a time of civil unrest and massive protesting.

Many fear that there will be a coup. The Bangkok Post has screamed in their headlines "No chance of a coup, army says".  The Thai army says they will not intervene with the protests and let the police handle it. Police previously have used hoses spraying down protestors with chemical laced water, and sand. The Thai government has denied these claims. Yet on Pornhub there are videos of the hosing of protestors and the chemical burns they received.

When the conventional news media have failed to cover vital issues then porn sites may be  the only way for the oppressed to get out the truth.

Russia's "Gay Propaganda" Law is a violation of human rights

The LGBTQ community in Russia is facing extreme hardships under Russian president Vladimir Putin. In 2013, President Putin established the "gay propaganda law" which would focus on "protecting children from information promoting the denial of traditional family values,” and bans the “promotion of nontraditional sexual relations to minors”.  The press, television, radio, and internet would be restrained from promoting news about the LGBTQ community to the youth of Russia.  

Human Rights Watch researcher, Kyle Knight says the “blatantly discriminatory” law has had the “complete opposite effect of what the proponents of the law suggested it would have." Knight also states that,“The evidence we have in our new report shows the law actually ruined some children’s lives.” 

Russian blogger, Zhenya Svetski, stands with a sign reading “I am not ‘gay propaganda’” in Moscow, December 2018.  © 2018 Dmitry Belyakov for Human Rights Watch

Russia is promoting homophobia by prohibiting media from showing any homosexuality.  The 2019 movie "Rocketman" illustrates the life of musician Elton John.  Elton John is a member of the LGBTQ community. Russia censored any scenes that showed the act of homosexuality. Natalia Zviagina, Director of Amnesty International's Representative Office in Russia, states:

“By censoring any expression of affection between two human beings of the same sex, this mutilated version of the film insults and dehumanizes same-sex relationships. The distributors should take immediate steps to restore all deleted scenes of the movie.”

In another case of film censorship, director Larisa Zhuravleva of the film "Outlaw"  was fined 50,000 rubles for “promoting non-traditional sexual relationships among minors” because of Russia's "gay propaganda" law. The film was centered on two storylines, one about a general falling in love with a transgender woman and another about a gay teen in high school. Film critic Anton Dolin described his impression of the film:

"It’s a normal youth film, moderately provocative, with several erotic scenes and representation of, let’s say, various sexual practices, including those that are commonly referred to as ’non-traditional’ in Russia. At the same time, there’s nothing that goes beyond festival cinema, as a rule, there’s no trace of any problems getting [it] into Russian distribution.” 

The country’s notorious “gay propaganda” law violates the right to freedom of expression. An activist for the LGBTQ community in Russia, Yulia Tsvetkova, is facing charges for violating the "gay propaganda" law. Tsvetkova posted a picture on social media of a drawing she had made which illustrated a same sex couple with children and the caption reading “Family is where love is. Support LGBT+ families!” In an interview with Snob News, Yulia Tsvetkova discusses her drawing:

"It would look like propaganda if I wrote that the real family is only the LGBT family. But I do not think so, because I am against discrimination in any direction. For the same reason, I do not believe that a family must necessarily be traditional. My family, for example, consists of me and my mother and two cats."

Illustration reading, "Family is where love is. Support LGBT+ families.” © 2019 Yulia Tsvetkova

 

The "gay propaganda" law is a complete disregard of our human rights. The law is shielding the youth from visualizing the idea of homosexuality which does more harm than good to a child. A 2017 study published in the Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research, "Changing Media and Changing Minds: Media Exposure and Viewer Attitudes Toward Homosexuality" concluded that "younger participants with higher levels of media would have more positive attitudes on homosexuality." This is basic principle that discrimination is something that is taught. Russia promoting homophobia could impact the youth into being homophobic which could eventually lead to more hardships and discrimination against the LGBTQ community. 

Nicaraguan Government Tries to Silence Independent News

Nicaraguan news has come under attack in a political showdown with the government. Nicaragua has only two independent news outlets, Canal 12 News and La Prensa.  They report the good and bad news about the country. All other Nicaraguan outlets are connected to President Daniel Ortega who has turned his back on democratic ways for his country.  That means he gets to call the shots about the news they broadcast to the public. This limits what the public gets to know or see about what's going on in their own country.

Media in Nicaragua

According to Media Landscapes the majority of news outlets are connected to the President and his government. Government connected media reports news with an angle that makes them look good. Social media like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp are becoming more popular with younger generations of Nicaraguans. More fake news is being distributed by using these new ways of reporting news. 

Independent News Down to Two in Nicaragua

Harassment continues for the media in Nicaragua and President Ortega is the main attacker. He and his government have made it nearly impossible to report freely.  The news media and newspapers who report anything that opposes President Ortega's views are harrassed. According to RSF Reporters Without Borders the journalists in Nicaragua are doing their jobs while living in fear. They have been the targets of death threats when their reporting opposes the views of President Ortega.

Canal 12 News under attack in Nicaragua

The government in Nicaragua will use whatever it takes to keep independent news outlets from reporting the actual news. According to VOA News (Voice of America) , Canal 12 News was hit with a court order to seize its assets. The court order said that they owed taxes, but many claim it's just political payback. With their assets frozen, they won't be able to broadcast and that's the way the government wants it. 

Government in Nicaragua tries to bully La Prensa into submission

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his political allies found a new way to silence the freedom of press. According to the LA Times the government has punished the independent newspaper, La Prensa, by literally cutting them off from supplies. They have very little to no access to paper and ink to print newspapers. This has caused them to print less pages in each newspaper and limit the amount of circulation. "The blockade on newsprint and ink had forced the country's only other daily newspaper, El Nuevo Diario, to close its doors. Now La Prensa faced the same fate".  This same harassment has hurt La Prensa financially which forced them to lay off  75 people already and they only had a 100 people to start with.  The Nicaraguan government continues to harass the newspaper to try to get them to comply to the demands of the government. By defying these demands there is a huge possibility that more jobs will be lost at the newspaper and that they may be put out of business.  Many employees of the newspaper may lose their jobs just by trying to do their jobs.