Clean-Net 2014 Update 9-2014 – The Microverse

The State Internet Information Office, which was recently authorized to take a more active role in administering internet content and also made waves in releasing new rules for instant messaging services , has continued the Clean Neat 2014 campaign against online pornography and unlawful materials.

According to statistics recently published HERE  , since the start of this year, the clean net campaign has:

• closed over 150,000 micro-blog accounts involved with transmitting porn or prostitution;
• 700,000 instant messenger accounts have been closed for prostitution;
• 3,000 Public Accounts on instant messenger services [official company or celebrity accounts which operate on a subscription model, rather that a ‘friending’ model] have been shut down for transmitting pornography; and
• 900,000 QQ instant messenger accounts were closed violations of law or regulations.

Leads for these actions generally arise from 1 of 3 paths:

1. Proactive self-correction by the major service providers (Xinliang, Tencent and others),
2. Specially appointed government investigation teams ordering investigation of the accounts
3. Public reports via hotlines and online reporting sites

There are three principle types of accounts investigated:

1. Accounts sending large amounts of lewd images
2. Accounts publishing large volumes of sexual texts with lurid depictions
3. Accounts publishing information for soliciting prostitutes

The State Internet Information office emphasized that citizen reports are a critical source of information in identifying these unlawful and improper sites, and that those discovering websites intentionally publishing pornography and sexual information should report it either through the site or an online reporting center.