ALBAWABA - Iraqi authorities have ordered the blacking out of all billboard screens across the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Sunday after a hacker managed to show a porn film on one of them, according to security forces, who also announced the arrest of a suspect.
On Saturday evening, "a person managed to hack into an advertising screen in Uqba bin Nafia Square", a major intersection at the center of the Iraqi capital, a security source who requested anonymity told AFP.
Social media users extensively shared videos of the porn film being shown as cars passed by in central Baghdad. According to the security official, the "immoral scenes" forced authorities to "turn off all advertising screens in Baghdad" while they reviewed security procedures.
Several screens that usually show advertisements for household goods or political candidates before elections were switched off on Sunday morning, according to an AFP photographer.
Largely conservative Iraq announced in 2022 that it was planning to block pornographic websites, but many have been left accessible, AFP reported.
The Iraqi government, which is dominated by pro-Iranian parties, has targeted several YouTubers and TikTokers since last year, accusing them of sharing "indecent content" that goes "against morals and traditions".
Some of them have been imprisoned, including a young woman who posted videos dancing to pop music.
