China to crack down on pornography

Beijing: Chinese authorities have decided to launch a drive to crack down on the spread of pornography and vulgar information on the Internet. The campaign will target porn websites, online games, online advertisements, web pages, columns, forums, blogs, microblogs and social network websites. The drive aims to create a “benign Internet environment” for the Chinese youth during the summer holiday, which lasts from July to the end of August, reported Xinhua citing the State Internet Information Office (SIIO) in a statement. [caption id=“attachment_962647” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A Chinese woman sells pornographic CDs. AFP.[/caption] According to SIIO, websites and online games would be shut down if they were found to contain pornographic information. The office also said that the government agencies would carry out checks on shops selling electronic or audio-visual products and Internet bars to eradicate the spread of pornography, according to the statement. Other government agencies participating in the campaign would include the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications, as well as the public security, industry and information technology, and culture ministries, the statement added. IANS