Manila, Philippines, Jan 16, 2017 / 11:36 am
The Philippines government has blocked several commonly accessed pornography websites, on both desktop and portable devices, citing child pornography laws.
The country's National Telecommunications Commission told CNN that it had ordered all ISPs in the nation to block access to the sites, beginning January 14.
While Smart and Sun Cellular customers said the sites were inaccessible, the BBC suggested – based on social media reports – that other ISPs were still allowing access to the sites.
The news comes amid studies continuing to show a staggering increase in pornography viewing, as well as many harmful effects of pornography use, including decreased gray matter in the brain, addiction to pornography, violent sexual behaviors, and a decrease in virility .
In recent years, several major restaurant chains – including McDonalds, Starbucks, Panera and Chick-fil-A – have introduced pornography filtering to their internet.
Hotel chains including Hyatt, Marriott and Omni have also removed on-demand pornography from their hotel rooms, citing the connection between pornography and human trafficking.