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 © 2025 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

Proposed New Hampshire AV Bill Appears to Violate Constitution

A bill in the New Hampshire state legislature, aimed at requiring adult sites to age-verify users in that state, contains a provision that seemingly contradicts the Supremacy Clause in Article VI of the U.S. Constitution.

AEBN Publishes Report on Fetish Trends

AEBN has published a report on fetish categories from its straight and gay theaters.

Online Child Protection Hearing to Include Federal AV Bill

A House subcommittee will hold a hearing next week on a slate of bills aimed at protecting minors online, including the SCREEN Act, which would make site-based age verification of users seeking to access adult content federal law.

Industry Photographer, 'Payout' Founder Mike B Passes Away

Longtime industry photographer and publisher Michael Bartholomey, known widely as Mike B, passed away Saturday.

FSC Announces 2025 Board of Directors Election Nominees

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has announced the nominees for its 2025 Board of Directors election.

AdultHTML Launches Black Friday Web Design, Development Promo

AdultHTML has launched its annual Black Friday/Cyber Monday promo for web design and development, running through Dec. 5.

Canada Exempts Online Adult Content From 'CanCon' Quotas

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has updated its broadcasting regulatory policies, exempting streaming adult content from “made in Canada” requirements that apply to other online material.

Creator Law Firm 'OnlyFirm' Launches

Entertainment attorney Alex Lonstein has officially launched OnlyFirm.com for creators.

German Court Puts Pornhub, YouPorn 'Network Ban' on Hold

The Administrative Court of Düsseldorf has temporarily blocked the State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia (LfM) from forcing telecom providers to cut off access to Aylo-owned adult sites Pornhub and YouPorn.

FSC: NC Law Invalidating Model Contracts Takes Effect December 1

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has issued a notice that North Carolina's Prevent Exploitation of Women and Minors Act goes into effect on December 1.

Show More