3 online Chinese literature platforms punished over porn

BEIJING — Three popular online Chinese literature platforms that were found to have been spreading pornography have been ordered by China’s top anti-pornography watchdog to rectify the situation.

The National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications posted the order on its website on Tuesday and punished Jinjiang Literature, FQXS and Midu.

“All three enterprises must thoroughly clean up the problematic content during the rectification period and strictly review uploaded information to ensure that pornography won’t be found and broadcast on their platforms,” the office said in a statement.

The authority ordered Jinjiang Literature not to update content and develop business on its website and smartphone application for 15 days. The platform was also asked to announce the rectification on its website and app.

Under the order, FQXS has been prohibited from updating content and must stop developing business on its app for three months. FQXS should also post the rectification on its app.

Midu has been banned from updating content and conducting business on its website and app for three months, and should announce the ban on the website and app, according to the order.

When China Daily opened the three enterprises’ apps on Tuesday afternoon, the announcement was seen clearly on the top of their front pages. The same announcement was also found on Midu’s website.

But Jinjiang Literature had not informed users about the rectification on its website as of press time.

The anti-pornography office welcomed the fast development of online literature and appearances by online authors, saying in the statement that they contribute a lot to meeting peoples’ cultural demands and enriching their lives.

“But some bad and pornographic information that is trying to harm the industry can still be found among online literature,” the statement said. “Meanwhile, a few internet enterprises that lack reviews or even take the initiative to spread harmful content also damage the industry’s environment and readers’ interests.”

The office said it has worked with other law enforcement departments to crack down more strongly against harmful information in online literature and fight problematic works with zero tolerance.

“We’ll strengthen efforts to receive reports on online literature, give stricter reviews on works and expose problematic cases in a timely manner,” it said. “For enterprises that do not correct problems after being alerted, we’ll also issue reading advisory risks to readers in addition to punishments.”

Since the beginning of this year, the office and other internet governance authorities have launched several campaigns and conducted regular inspections to fight online pornographic information. For example, the nation’s Cyberspace Administration initiated a crackdown against online harmful content in January. By June 12, more than 110 million pieces of harmful information related to pornography, fraud and gambling had been deleted, according to the authority.