I was just in Dubai for a couple days, went to look on Lovehoney and got a message 'This website is not accessible in the UAE' because the site I was trying to access 'contains content that is prohibited'.
A couple of weeks ago on my last visit I could access LH, what has happened in a couple of weeks.
I wonder how many other countries ban Lovehoney.
Maybe you or someone else being on the website originally trigged them to look into the content of the website, and then they banned it.
I can imagine that China is probably another country where it might be banned.
Mrs X, that would be funny as most items come from them!
LH is also filtered out by my mobile network's adult content filter. I have to turn the filter off to access LH, which I have set as default, although the network seems to have problems remembering this setting!
My mobile network wouldn't let me access LH for a short while but it isn't a problem anymore.
China's censorship laws are utterly ridiculous! Some places are worse than others, not everywhere in China are subjected to the same rules. For example I know someone who lives in Beijing, and they're of the very small minority of China who are allowed access to Facebook as well as Shanghai. However, I've just asked them to check if lovehoney works in China, and it does (well in Beijing anyway!).
At least China allows unmarried people to kiss in public and hold hands (and people of the same sex to date).
Is it just a Middle East thing banning LH?
That's what happens when you have a totalitarian/religious whack job regime in charge. We take our freedoms for granted over here.
I've never had any problems logging on to LH on my travels. The only middle eastern country I've visited recently is Israel. No problems there, but it's not a typical middle eastern country. I think you know what I mean.
I doubt it's only the Middle East that has a ban on it. Hundreds of countries worldwide have censorship on Internet content. In Europe alone over 40 countries have some sort of Internet censorship. A lot of this has to do with religion which should be respected. However, a lot of it is for negative reasons and for the government trying to police their country. So many countries aren't allowed access to news websites so they can't read about politics, basically so people are forced to conform to what the government thinks they should be like. Russia and Turkey for example aren't allowed access to any political media online, or social networking and pornography. This is just one continent, but outside of Europe it gets worse. Look online into Internet censorship around the world. It's quite shocking.
I imagine North Korea is hard to beat. Even their TV networks have designated propoganda running constantly.
In most parts of the world, censorship is futile and only ends up with the Streisand effect. I don't think religion is a good reason for censorship at all. You should be as free to be without it as you are to be with it.
I can understand censoring sex toys but I think it is ultimately futile unless freedom of people is kept firmly at zero.
The last time I was in Turkey was before the internet really got started but I did read an article recently about 'sex shops' aimed at women in Istanbul (rather than having to order over the internet) and looking again I see that vibrators/dildos are 'not approved'.
I wonder if that means tourists travelling to a muslim country face having them confiscated or if you just can't sell them there?
Pornography and sex toys are two totally different things. You are 'allowed' sex toys in Turkey, they're not illegal. You can travel to Turkey with sex toys and take them into the country, and you will even see sex toy shops in Turkey. These are regular sex toy shops and some sex toy shops that take the Islamic faith into consideration and sell sex toys that don't vibrate and don't look like a penis. They also sell herbal teas that are herbal sex aids, alcohol free lubricants, condoms and such.
The fact that pornography is banned has nothing to do with Islam and I feel like I need to make that very clear. A lot of people do think it's just because of Islam, but countries don't generally make their rules based on a certain faith (with exceptions). Pornography in Turkey banned because that's what their government wants because they believe it is damaging to the younger generation, too easy to access and think that no good can come from pornography, and in the most part, I tend to slightly agree. Yes Turkey is an Islamic country and a lot of Muslims live there but not everything their government does reflects that. This is exactly the same as pornography being totally banned in other countries such as South Africa and Cuba who's main religion isn't Islam.
This was the article I was looking at:
http://www.ibtimes.com/halal-sex-shop-first-online-sex-shop-muslims-turkey-sells-islam-approved-products-sexual-advice
Nothing to do with pornography but it does use religion as a reason.
What amused me a couple of days ago was that I couldn't access Lovehoney but the YouPorn link I had been watching before I left would play fine (because it was buffered I assume).
Yes, that article does use religion as a reason, but he is selling Islamic friendly sex aids/toys to Muslims online. The person selling the items being Turkish has very little to do with it. Someone in Britain, Germany, France, America or anywhere else could set up an online Islam friendly sex toy website, but that wouldn't mean that everyone else in the country are Muslim, it would mean they're selling toys to cater for a certain religion.
The article even says that there is sex toy shops in Turkey, albeit not very pleasant sounding ones, but there is also Turkish sex toy websites in Turkey. That article is stating that the seller has made a Islam friendly website.
Islam and Turkey are two different things.
I thought Turkey was a secular society and not an "Islamic country". As an irish man nothing irritates me more than when people claim Ireland is a catholic country, it's not. If people want to believe in a god and follow a particular religion that's a personal choice. It's not the role of government to impose a certain religion or set of values on to others.
Sorry Ron, you're right, Turkey is a secular country, but in my personal opinion I believe that Turkey will become an Islamic state. I have Muslim family members who live in Turkey (they were originally born in the UK into a Muslim family). From what they've told me, it sounds to be as if it will happen, probably within our lifetime.
Maybe it will. But I hope not. I know I'm repeating my self but governments imposing religion on its citizens is wrong. I think if Turkey has ambitions to join the EU then it will have to keep the fanatics in check. It's caught between East and west and it's a delicate balancing act.
I couldn't access lovehoney using the hospital tv and internet service. It was banned.
How rude you can't acess LH I certainley couldn't live in them countries
A friend of mine lives in dubai and they cant use skype over there in dubai. Taking the P***