China to Prosecute Adult Web ‘Gang’

BEIJING — China’s Anhui Provincial Internet police this week rounded up what it is calling an organized gang of webmasters and staffers, accusing them of operating the country's largest illegal adult website.

Eleven suspects will be prosecuted in Hefei Intermediate People’s Court following the arrests. They are the latest in a highly publicized sweep being touted by the government as the single-largest international anti-pornography crackdown, which so far has landed thousands of people behind bars.

After a month-long investigation, police said they determined the defendants had used offshore servers, including at least one in the United States, to register more than 300,000 subscribers to the websites.

Ten men and one woman face charges. Police said they include school teachers and public servants who provided technical support and marketing expertise to a twelfth suspect, Wang Yong, who is being called the site's "ring leader." Yong, authorities say, built the server in the United States and will be tried seperately.

According to China’s Xinhua News Agency, the site was launched in 2003. Run primarily from the province of Anhui, it offered access to 6,000 videos and 100,000 pictures. Authorities said the site's records show more than 400 million visits before being shut down.

Chinese law forbids the dissemination of explicit or hardcore materials of any kind, including those involving only consenting adults. The law considers such activities crimes against the people and the state.

According to the group Human Rights Watch, since 1995 China has passed more than 60 sets of regulations regarding Internet content. Most are broadly worded, giving authorities wide birth concerning what they consider to be criminal activities as well as punishment for those activities.

Last year, the government announced a “war on pornography,” passing stiffer penalties — including life in prison — for “severe cases,” which include websites that have been clicked on more than 250,000 times.

In November, a Chinese adult webmaster was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of peddling pornography.

China's police ministry hands out rewards of up to 2,000 yaun, or $330, to people who report adult sites. The government also has spent millions in an attempt to control what citizens view over the Internet and block access to adult material, including the mandatory installation of filtering software on all public computers.

Copyright © 2024 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

Nebraska Legislature Passes Republican's Age Verification Bill With No Votes Against It

Nebraska’s unicameral legislature has passed the state’s version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists.

Performers in Meta Blacklisting Lawsuit Seek to Preserve Antitrust Claims

Adult Performance Artists Guild board officers Alana Evans, Kelly Pierce and Ruby have informed a California court that, although they want to drop their lawsuit claiming that Meta conspired with OnlyFans to blacklist rival premium fan platforms’ talent, they may still have antitrust claims that they may pursue in the future.

FSC, Co-Plaintiffs to Ask US Supreme Court to Review Constitutionality of Texas Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) and its co-plaintiffs in the challenge to Texas’ controversial age verification law have filed a petition before the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit asking to stay its recent upholding the law because they intend to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to review the law’s constitutionality.

FSC Vows to Fight Florida Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) issued a statement vowing to continue fighting Florida’s age verification law, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday as part of a comprehensive bill targeting minors’ use of social media.

Kansas Republican Aims to Create New Bureaucracy to 'Investigate' Porn Websites

Republican state legislators succeeded Monday in moving forward Kansas’ version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists, despite serious concerns raised by House Democrats about the cost of establishing a new bureaucracy tasked with investigating websites for pornographic content.

SK Intertainment Launches 'Skinfluential Management' Agency, FansFuel Joint Venture

Mr. Skin/Mr. Man parent company SK Intertainment has launched new creator agency Skinfluential Management, as well as a new joint venture with Showbizz Media's creator stats and affiliate marketing platform, FansFuel.

Industry Attorney, Free Speech Champion Clyde DeWitt Passes Away at 75

Noted industry attorney Clyde DeWitt passed away on Friday in Las Vegas at 75, according to friends and colleagues.

APClips Names Avery Jane 'Creator of the Month'

APClips has named Avery Jane its Creator of the Month for March.

JustFor.fans Offers Gumroad Users Platform to Sell NSFW Artwork

JustFor.fans (JFF) is offering Gumroad users a platform to sell NSFW artwork after the latter banned adult content.

Live Cam Academy Offers Free Access to Educational Resources

Live Cam Academy is offering its educational resources for free to content creators and cam models.

Show More