Cleaning Up the Web

　　China cracks down on pornographic and other unsavory content to protect young Internet surfers

　　Xiao Mingli is a migrant worker in Beijing. In his spare time he likes to read books online. In April， however， Xiao discovered that he could not read anything he used to on Sina.com’s Reading Channel， as the channel was banned by the authorities for hosting pornographic content.

　　“It’s not surprising to see that because it contained a lot of porn articles while having some really nice literature，” Xiao said. “I knew it would be banned sooner or later.”

　　According to the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications， 20 articles and four videos posted on Sina， a leading Web portal in China， were confirmed to have contained lewd or sexually explicit content.

　　Sina was fined 5.08 million yuan ($828，700) and had its Internet Publication License and License for Online Transmission of Audio-Visual Programs revoked.

　　After the penalties were announced， Sina issued two statements expressing its apologies within four days. In the second statement on April 27， the company said that it will follow stricter standards in supervising its content.

　　In May， Qvod Technology Co. Ltd.， a Shenzhen-based video-sharing site in south China’s Guangdong Province， was also found guilty of spreading pornographic content. It was reported that police and publication authorities in Beijing found more than 3，000 illegal video clips on four servers confiscated from the company at the end of 2013. Authorities also found a large amount of sexually explicit content on its website and mobile applications in March. The company was stripped of its license to offer paid-for telecommunication services.

　　These measures come after China began carrying out a campaign to rid the country of online pornography， Cleaning the Web 2014， which spans from April to November.

　　Statistics show that this year’s campaign is much more severe than previous efforts， and many websites， big and small， will face serious consequences if found to be providing obscene content.

　　The State Internet Information Office (SIIO) said on June 20 that 1，222 porn-related websites had been shut down since the launch of the anti-pornography campaign. The websites， including some that were allegedly dedicated to medical treatment and health， were closed for providing videos or photographs of a pornographic nature， or linked to porn websites abroad， the office said in a statement. It was also revealed that about 2，200 pieces of text containing pornographic information had been deleted from the Internet in the same period of time.

　　The campaign has been effective， the SIIO said， adding that more efforts will be taken to curb the spread of pornography online.

　　A number of Internet service providers， including search engine Baidu， portal site Sohu， video-streaming site Xunlei， as well as messaging services WeChat and QQ， have pledged to take measures to clean up the information they provide.

　　Protecting the youth

　　China has conducted crackdowns on pornography on the Internet since 2004 and intensified such efforts in recent years. For example， in October 2013， police busted four transnational child porn websites and arrested more than 250 suspects in a joint operation with foreign police. Earlier last year， 180，000 online publications were shut down for their involvement in the dissemination of porn， according to the Ministry of Public Security.

　　Despite this， the Internet is still overrun with pornographic content， said Bu Xiting， a researcher with Beijing-based Communication University of China.

　　The persistent existence of online pornography is partly due to the pursuit of economic interests， with the development of mobile Internet also providing more room for explicit content， according to the SIIO.

　　In January 2010， the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate， China’s highest judicial and procuratorial bodies， jointly issued a legal interpretation， which stipulates that telecom carriers， Internet access providers， advertisers and other operators who provide conditions for the spreading of pornographic content should hold administrative and criminal liability.

　　“Currently， some media outlets， especially those on the Internet， provide a large amount of vulgar content. Harsh measures should be taken to put pressure on all these websites， in order to ensure the safe and healthy growth of our nation’s youth，” said Pi Yijun， a professor at China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing.

　　Young people are the most at-risk group when it comes to exposure to sexually explicit content. According to the Statistical Report on Internet Development in China， by the end of 2013， China had 618 million Internet users， 34.9 percent of whom were below 19 years of age.

　　Lyu Yang， a media worker in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province， was shocked to see pornography in a search engine on her son’s mobile phone， according to a report of Xinhua News Agency.

　　“My son said that his classmates visited these websites during evening classes，” Lyu was quoted by Xinhua as saying.

　　“Many young people are addicted to pornography on the Internet and lose themselves [in it]. Some of them have even committed crimes，” Pi said.

　　Statistics from the Ministry of Public Security show that in the past decade， nearly 80 percent of the captured juvenile criminals committed crimes after being influenced by obscene material on the Internet.

　　“By making all these efforts， we are striving to return a clean Internet world to the users， especially the youngsters，” Vice Minister of Education Du Yubo told Xinhua.

　　Moms in action

　　Besides the government， there are many non-governmental organizations and even individuals who have joined the fight against online pornography. In January 2010， the Beijing Internet Association launched a program called Moms Jury， and publicized a notice to recruit moms as volunteers.

　　Yang Lu， a freelancer， is a member of the Moms Jury， and has been working for the program for more than two years.

　　“When I first saw the recruitment notice， I knew I must join，” said Yang， who has a son who was in junior high school at the time.

　　Yang said that she often uses the Internet in her writing and comes across pornographic and violent articles， images and videos on many websites. She admitted that the way pornography is strategically hidden makes it difficult for parents to monitor， but easy for most tech-savvy children to find.

　　Moms Jury consists of members from all walks of life， and more than 70 percent of them have children in primary and secondary schools. After a short training period， these moms search for immoral content and report the sites to the authorities.

　　“Moms Jury has become a bridge connecting the public and websites， as well as the authorities，” Yang said.

　　Along with other members of Moms Jury， Yang also wrote and published articles calling on children to stay away from online pornography.

　　“Young people form the majority of Internet users. Harmful content is dangerous to their development， as they do not have the capacity to make judgments independently，” Yang said.

　　By Ni Yanshuo