The Ministry of Communications and Information in Indonesia said a widely-circulated image on social media showing the ministry has set up a verified account on Canadian-based porn site Pornhub is fake.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Communications and Information spokesperson Ferdinandus Setu said the ministry has not made any account or uploaded any content to Pornhub.

The ministry reached out to Pornhub via email to object the use of the ministry's name and logo on the platform.

[embed]https://twitter.com/kemkominfo/status/1210142734893248512[/embed]

It will also be working with the cybercrime police to take action against those who falsified the information online, which in this case, is impersonating the ministry.

On Dec 23, a Twitter user shared screenshots of a verified account on Pornhub bearing the ministry's name Kemkominfo with the description "Official Pornhub account of (the) Ministry of Communication and Information of the Republic of Indonesia".

[embed]https://twitter.com/sleepyheadbonzo/status/1208851545837776896[/embed]

It also said the account was made "to oversee and guarantee the public in enjoying the video". The account has 108 video views and five subscribers. According to website Coconuts, the account has only posted one video and it is not "pornographic".

CNA reported that Pornhub has been blocked in Indonesia since 2017 and Ferdinandus said the ministry has denied access to 1.5 million websites and social media accounts with pornographic content as of November 2019.

He also reminded users that anyone found guilty of distributing or sharing indecent or pornographic content in Indonesia may be jailed for up to six years and fined up to 1 billion rupiah (S$97,000).

Today (Dec 27), website Detik reported that Pornhub has removed the account impersonating the ministry after it was informed about the issue.

A spokesperson from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said the regulatory body has been blocking access to Pornhub and other related sites since 2012.

From 2012 until November 2019, MCMC has blocked a total of 5,611 websites containing obscene content, as they violated Section 233 of the CMA98.