China Continues to Shut Down Foreign Adult Sites

BEIJING — In another wave of its massive campaign to censor the Internet, Chinese officials have shut down 700 online-adult sites in the last two weeks.

No details were given on the cases Tuesday, the official Xinhua News Agency said, but 224 suspects have been detained since July 16.

For months, China has attempted to block access to foreign sites deemed subversive or obscene. It has also imprisoned activists for posting political material online.

Since it publicized two telephone numbers and a website for people to report online-adult sites, the ministry has received 733 phone calls and 16,711 online tips.

Sites offering “pornographic activities online or organizing sex trade” were targeted, Xinhua said.

Government official Wu Mingshan told Xinhua that “a clean online environment'' has been established in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai, as well as Liaoning province in the northeast and Guangdong in the south.

The official also said that the Communist government will be targeting fraud and gambling in the future.

Meanwhile, Xinhua announced Tuesday that China's Internet population grew 28 percent over the past year to 87 million, while use of broadband and online commerce is soaring.

According to a survey froom the Network Information Center, more than half of Chinese Internet users plan to start shopping online in the coming year. The finding could give Internet retailers a morale boost as they struggle to fulfill early projections that China's 1.3 billion people would offer a huge online marketplace.

But growth of online commerce has been held back by China's lack of credit cards and poor delivery services, even though some entrepreneurs are developing new methods for online payment.

Despite the booming growth, China's online population is only 6.7 percent of the overall population, just over half the world average of 12 percent, Xinhua said.

Copyright © 2026 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Dreamcam Rolls Out Web-Based Passthrough VR

Dreamcam has introduced web-based passthrough VR functionality to its streaming platform.

2026 TEAs Nominees Announced

Nominees for the 2026 Trans Erotica Awards (TEAs), presented by Clips4Sale, have been announced. The ceremony will return to the Avalon in Hollywood on Sunday, March 8.

Lauren Phillips, Derek Kage Cap AEBN's Top 100 Stars of 2025

AEBN has revealed its top 100-selling stars of 2025 in both gay and straight theaters.

2026 XBIZ LA Conference Schedule Announced

XBIZ is pleased to announce the release of the full show schedule for the XBIZ 2026 conference, set to take place Jan. 12-15 at the Kimpton Everly Hotel in Hollywood.

Needemand Joins ASACP as Corporate Sponsor

French startup company Needemand has signed on as the latest corporate sponsor for Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP).

Utah State Legislator Proposes New 'Porn Tax'

A Utah state senator introduced a bill on Monday that would impose a 7% tax on the gross receipts of adult websites doing business in that state, plus require adult sites to pay an annual $500 fee.

Carlotta Champagne is LoyalFans' 'Featured Creator' for January

LoyalFans has named Carlotta Champagne as its Featured Creator for January.

Pineapple Support Relaunches Site

Pineapple Support has updated and relaunched its website.

Arcom-Targeted Sites Implement Age Verification in France

Five high-traffic adult websites based outside of France have implemented age verification as required under the nation’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law, after receiving warnings from French media regulator Arcom.

Goddess Lilith Launches 'Adultpreneurs' Networking Site

Goddess Lilith has launched Adultpreneurs, a new community and networking site.

Show More