TAIYUAN, China — Chinese authorities in the city of Taiyuan earlier this year arrested five people over the operation of several adult websites, including the popular 66se tube site.
According to Shanxi province police, the suspects formed “a criminal gang responsible for operating a network of pornographic websites, promoting overseas gambling sites and engaging in telecom fraud.”
The arrests and shuttering of 66se and related websites took place in April, although Chinese police only announced the operation and charges this week.
A man surnamed Xie, a computer vocational school graduate, is accused of leading the business starting in 2019.
Xie initially launched a movie website, China Today reported, “but soon transformed it into a platform for obscene videos called 66se, automatically downloading and uploading illicit content.”
Xie reportedly charged advertisers between 5,000 and 9,000 yuan ($700 and $1,260) per ad, and also promoted gambling and adult cam sites located overseas.
Xie and associates are also charged with marketing “custom instant messaging software for illegal purposes” and engaging in various online shopping and dating scams.
Their trial date has not yet been set.