The Ministry of Communications and Information of Indonesia is seeking legal action against an unknown entity who impersonates it on the adult website Pornhub, Channel News Asia said.
A screenshot of the account's profile, first shared on Twitter earlier this month, shows an entity which goes by the abbreviation KEMKOMINFO.
man is this ur biggest flex in 2019? verified pornhub account? @kemkominfo pic.twitter.com/c2g4BLB55v
— bonzo (@sleepyheadbonzo) December 22, 2019
KOMINFO is the group tasked with maintaining Indonesia's internet firewall, and blocking sites and social media accounts that the government sees as harmful to the public.
After the screenshot went viral, the ministry took to Twitter to make an official statement on the matter.
Siaran Pers Kemkominfo RI
— Kementerian Kominfo (@kemkominfo) December 26, 2019
Sehubungan dengan beredarnya informasi mengenai adanya akun yang mengatasnamakan Kementerian Kominfo RI pada sebuah website pornografi, https://t.co/tPJJ1w3jZF, dengan ini disampaikan beberapa hal sebagai berikut:
The ministry added that it had contacted Pornhub, asking them to remove the account from the site and also said that they were going to sue the creator of the fake profile.
The incident prompted many users to wonder how this account was verified with a blue checkmark. According to Newsweek, the procedure to become a verified user on Pornhub is quite simple, and the web site does not carry out extra identity checks for verified accounts.
Access to Pornhub has been blocked in Indonesia since 2017. Anti-pornography laws are very strict there; individuals who are convicted of producing and sharing X-rated content may face huge fines or a prison sentence.
