China launches crackdown on internet porn
Tuesday, 06 Jan 2009 12:31
China has launched a crackdown on internet porn
China has begun a month-long crackdown on websites which they claim provide and spread pornographic or obscene content.
The blacklist includes some 19 sites including Google and China's leading search engine Baidu.
The campaign was launched on Monday by the Chinese information office of the state council, ministry of public security and four other governmental departments in an attempt to "clean up the online environment", the Xinhua news agency reports.
Chinese authorities claim the websites are being targeted for providing link to pornographic sites or containing explicit images.
The websites in question also failed to remove the offensive material after being notified by the China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Centre (CIIRC), it is reported.
The deputy director of the state council information office, Cai Mingzhao, said on Monday that online pornography was against China's social morals and a violation of its laws.
"The government will continue to expose, punish or even shut down those infamous websites that refuse to correct their wrongdoing," he told a national teleconference.
"Immediate action is needed to purify the internet environment."
The CIIRC maintains Google provides "a large number of links to porn websites" in its search results and did not the appropriate action requested.
In response a Google spokeswoman in China, Cui Jin, said the website was a search engine and did not actively generate any pornographic content.
"If we find any violation, we will take action. So far, I haven't seen any examples of violations," she told the Associated Press news agency.