China opens investigation into online porn and fake news organisations

Four teams of inspectors are undertaking a month-long investigation into online pornography and fake news organisations across 11 Chinese provincial-level regions, an official said on Monday. The probe, which will finish on May 26, aims to clean up “harmful” information online, targeting live-streaming, cloud service providers, mobile apps and websites circulating pornographic content, Xinhua news agency cited the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications as saying.

The inspectors are also tasked with looking into news blackmailing, fake news, journalists and media organisations, said the statement. Jointly launched by China’s various anti-pornography, publicity and internet-related authorities, the investigation is being carried out in areas including Beijing and Shanghai municipalities, as well as provinces of Guizhou, Jiangxi and Shaanxi.

This comes weeks after the country issued tighter rules for online news portals and network providers. President Xi Jinping has made China’s “cyber sovereignty” a top priority in his sweeping campaign to bolster security. He has also reasserted the ruling Communist Party’s role in limiting and guiding online discussion.

The new regulations, released by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) on its website, extend restrictions on what news can be produced and distributed by online platforms, requiring all services to be managed by party-sanctioned editorial staff.

The rules, which come into effect on June 1, apply to all political, economic, military, or diplomatic reports or opinion articles on blogs, websites, forums, search engines, instant messaging apps and all other platforms that select or edit news and information, the administration said.

With inputs from IANS