A more desirable alternative needs to be offered for rooting out pornography, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said
Russian President Vladimir Putin at his ‘Direct Line’ press conference, December 19, 2024 © Vyacheslav Prokofyev / RIA Novosti Banning adult websites outright will not solve the problem they present to Russia and the world, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. The Russian leader was speaking at his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow, combining it with the traditional ‘Direct Line’ question-and-answer session. Pornographic websites are a problem for Russia, he admitted, when asked about a potential ban on such content. “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 is 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.
