Happy times: DVD bootleggers make hay while sun sets on internet porn

When the internet shuts out erotica, what’s the next best thing to do? Make a dash for DVDs. That is exactly what people across the country seem to be doing, as the government decided that citizens are watching too much online porn. A Times of India report found that across several cities in India, sales of underground porn DVDs have shot up after 857 websites which were found to have pornographic content were blocked.

According to the report, in Delhi markets areas of Palika Bazaar, Lajpat Nagar and Paharganj, DVDs that were available for Rs 100 before the ban, are now being sold for Rs 300 — the price rise evidently being an outcome a major upward swing in the demand curve. In Bengaluru, people appeared to prefer the option of bypassing the block altogether, as a demand for VPNs (virtual private networks) saw a rise.

VPNcompare points out that the ban can be easily bypassed through a VPN that allows users to tunnel their internet connection out of India privately at “no extra long distance cost”.

DVD sellers appear to be an enterprising lot as they are seen to be making an extra effort to cash in on the ban-induced bonanza. The Tribune has quoted a trader as saying that sellers are now planning to keep computers and other devices with them to load content on mobile phones of customers.

DNA had reported in 2006 that CD sellers in Mumbai had started a free home delivery service of porn CDs and DVDs. Customers were quoted as saying that this made it easier for them as they could avoid the embarrassment of looking for such DVDs in public.