CHINA — China, which shut down more than 270 porn sites last year, will be ratcheting up the pressure even further on adult entertainment this year.
The Chinese government’s censorship campaign, which it calls “Cleaning the Web 2014,” will involve combing through websites, mobile app stores, search engines, set-top boxes and even Internet TV USB sticks to ensure none contain or promote pornography, says the country’s anti-porn agency, the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications.
Joining the anti-porn agency will be three other governmental departments, the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Internet Information Office.
Effective immediately, owners of websites, web portals, blogs, and even telecom companies have been instructed to scour their data to root out and delete anything that can be construed to be pornographic. The government indicates that it will reserve the right to impose significant penalties for those who do not comply, including the revocation of administrative licenses, effectively causing the offenders to cease to exist.
As part of last year’s sweep, the national anti-porn agency deleted more than 3.7 million pieces of information online that it deemed pornographic. One person, who allegedly was cited as a porn ringleader in Beijing, was sentenced to 14 years in prison after he was found guilty of selling over 35,000 “pornographic products.”
