ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraq’s communication ministry on Tuesday announced blocking access to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) website across the country, under the pretext of containing “unethical content.”

The popular website was blocked in Iraq last week without any clarification from relevant authorities. The move sparked uproar among users and movie lovers across the country, who criticized the baffling decision.

Nabeel Abdulbaqi, head of the Salam company, an Iraqi government agency in charge of monitoring websites and blocking them, acknowledged that blocking IMDB stirred “a controversy” but claimed that the move was not made randomly.

“The website was monitored in multiple directions and it was revealed that it contained several pornographic websites which harm the social fabric of the Iraqi society and targets its values and traditions,” said Abdulbaqi in an interview published on the communication ministry’s social media platforms.

“The blocking was not random and was made after monitoring the website.”

The official then proceeded to present what he labeled “a simple sample” of the alleged inappropriate content, as he displays the results of the website’s search engine after searching for “porn video.”

 Screenshot of the "evidence" provided by Iraqi authorities for blocking IMDB

Being a comprehensive resource for almost everything in the entertainment industry - from the largest, most mainstream productions to the smallest niche project -, IMDB is programmed to show results for almost any keyword but does not independently act as a platform to viewing the searched content.

Abdulbaqi said that they will document “the evidence” and present it to anyone who objects the decision.

IMDB is an online database for information and statistics about movies, TV shows, video games, and other parts of the entertainment industry, as well as profiles and information on actors, filmmakers, and all other kinds of celebrities.

The platform has a large following around the world, including Iraq, due to its comprehensive resources, as well its popular rating system, often consulted by viewers before watching a movie or a TV show.

The website itself does not contain or promote any graphic content, but boasts a massive database on virtually everything in the entertainment industry, which inevitably leads to the inclusion of some entries that might not be family friendly.

However, IMDB does not act as a platform for viewing those entries, but rather only acts as resource for information regarding the project. Images and trailers of the productions are included in the profiles, but they rarely contain any graphic content.

Iraq has blocked public access to all pornographic websites since 2022. Many websites are often inaccuately flagged by authorities and blocked under the pretext of containing inappropriate content.

The decision does not apply to the Kurdistan Region.