BEIJING — China has launched “Cleaning the Web 2014,” the country's latest salvo in its war on porn.
The National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications publicly announced that a task force of four government agencies will renew its campaign against the spread of porn on the Internet, targeting suspected websites, search engines and mobile app developers.
Also in the crosshairs are Internet TV USB sticks and set-top boxes.
The crackdown force also includes the State Internet Information Office, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Public Security. The new campaign will last until November.
A circular reportedly distributed to citizens said, "Porn has does great harm to minors and the social ethos," making it clear that all online texts, pictures, videos and advertisements with porn content would be systematically deleted.
Questionable websites, web channels and columns will be shut down or have their administrative license revoked if they are found to produce or spread any kind of porn information.
Webmasters, ISPs and portals were put on notice to do their own self-examination ahead of the investigation so they can clean up suspected information and links.
This is China’s latest effort to stem the spread of porn despite a number of previously failed attempts.