Share

China purges porn amid web censorship fears

Beijing - China has shut down more than 100 websites carrying pornography and closed thousands of accounts on social media sites in a renewed effort to clean up the internet, state media reported.

The campaign, named Cleaning the Web 2014, was launched in response to the spread of online pornography despite repeated bans, according to a circular issued by the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications.

Pornography is illegal in China, but some overseas critics are concerned that the crackdown on material deemed obscene is the latest government attempt to tighten its grip on the internet and will be used in broader censorship of websites.

In the latest drive, authorities have closed 110 websites and more than 3 300 accounts on China-based social networking services, and deleted more than 200 000 items containing pornography since January, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

"Disseminating pornographic information online severely harms the physical and mental health of minors, and seriously corrupts social ethos," an unidentified official with the State Internet Information Office was cited by Xinhua as saying.

Crackdown on Wechat

The campaign, set to last until November, comes after a crackdown on Wechat, Tencent Holding's social messaging app, which has had dozens of widely read accounts run by outspoken columnists shut down.

It also follows a move last year to purge online rumour-mongering, widely seen as a tool to punish critics of the ruling Communist Party, which has chilled political disclosure especially on Weibo, China's version of Twitter.

Sina Corp, a major Chinese web portal, temporarily shut down its entire online reading section shortly after the campaign was launched, because "works containing inappropriate content have appeared", the company said in a statement on one of its Weibo microblogs.

Last week, a Beijing court sentenced a man to three years in prison for spreading rumours on Weibo that the court said defamed celebrities and the government.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.03
-0.7%
Rand - Pound
24.01
-0.5%
Rand - Euro
20.54
-0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.36
-0.0%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.6%
Platinum
900.50
+0.4%
Palladium
1,002.25
+0.1%
Gold
2,209.77
+0.7%
Silver
24.53
-0.5%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,080
+0.6%
All Share
74,278
+0.5%
Resource 10
56,967
+2.4%
Industrial 25
103,572
+0.3%
Financial 15
16,456
-0.4%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders