Users have taken to social media to express their outrage at the decision

Russia’s media watchdog has extended its crackdown on internet pornography, banning two of the biggest porn sites in the world.

As of Tuesday, Pornhub and YouPorn now redirect Russian visitors to a page that says they’ve been blocked ‘by decision of public authorities.’

In response to the outcry that has since ensued, the agency behind the move has reiterated advice issued on Twitter last year following the ban of 11 popular porn sites – telling disgruntled users to ‘meet someone in real life.’

As of Tuesday, Pornhub and YouPorn now redirect Russian visitors to a page that says they’ve been blocked ‘by decision of public authorities.’ Outraged users have since taken to social media. A stock image is pictured

According to the BBC, this decision stems from two separate court rulings which determined that the websites ‘spread pornography,’ acting against Russian laws against the ‘illegal production, dissemination, and advertisement of pornographic materials and objects.’

Pornhub has responded to the issue on social media with numerous witty remarks – and the government agency Roskomnadzor has not hesitated to fire a few clap backs of its own.

Writing to the agency, Pornhub tweeted, ‘if we give you guys a Pornhub Premium account, will you un ban Pornhub in Russia?'

Pornhub has responded to the issue on social media with numerous witty remarks, like the one pictured above – and the government agency has not hesitated to fire a few clap backs of its own. In reply, Roskomnadzor wrote that they are ‘not in the market’ for the website’s services

In reply, Roskomnadzor wrote that they are ‘not in the market’ for the website’s services.

The Russian media regulator also reminded the internet of a post that they now say is ‘still relevant,’ retweeting a 2015 response to a Twitter user in which it suggested they ‘meet someone in real life,’ as an alternative to browsing pornography websites.

Fans of the popular sites now banned by the government also took to social media, expressing their frustration at the decision.

Russian activist Nadya Tolokonnikova quipped that the block is a ‘blow below the belt.’

Pornhub has since shared the link to a site which it claims it not blocked. In response to this, one user tweeted, ‘this awkward moment, when Pornhub cares about you more than your government does’

ARE PORN USERS MORE LIKELY TO BE FEMINISTS? The research used data from a large-scale study, which interviewed more than 24,000 randomly selected people across the US between 1975 and 2010. Of the total who said they used pornography - based on the question 'have you watched an X-rated film in the last year?' - more than half (56 per cent) were female and 53 per cent identified themselves to be married. People who admitted using pornography had more egalitarian views towards a number of women's issues, including in their attitudes towards abortion, women in the workplace and women in positions of power. When it came to men, the biggest differences between users and non-users were in their views of women in power and abortion, with those who used pornography showing more positive attitudes. The same was true for women who admitted using pornography. Advertisement

This isn’t the first time Russia has banned popular websites, according to RT.

Along with the 11 porn sites blocked last year, temporary bans have also affected Wikipedia, Apple's iCloud, and YouTube.

But, all hope might not be lost yet for users looking to access adult content on Pornhub.

To the relief of many fans, the website has shared an address that it claims is not blocked.

In response to this, one user tweeted, ‘this awkward moment, when Pornhub cares about you more than your government does.’