China’s General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) warned producers and distributors to stop making “vulgar” products, and to recall those that have already hit the market.
“Some of the video and audio products are coarsely made, containing materials of bad taste,” the regulatory agency said in a notice posted to its website.
Material subject to the crackdown includes both sexually explicit content and less graphic items — like partially nude images used in advertising and promotional items.
According to the GAPP, spot checks will be conducted across China, and companies that continue to produce and distributed prohibited materials will be punished, although no further details relating to punishment or to the enforcement effort have been made public.
Last week, the Chinese government pulled from theaters the movie “Lost in Beijing” in from theaters due to its sexually explicit scenes, and banned its producer from making films for two years. The movie, which reportedly is about deteriorating morals in the face of China’s economic expansion, was being promoted via “unhealthy, improper” advertisements, according to the government.
Only a few days prior to the banning of Lost in Beijing, GAPP issued a new warning about adult content, and instituted a mandatory permit system for video-sharing websites. The adult content warning stated that some movie companies and website owners had illegally broadcast pornography and “inflicted significant harm on youth audiences.”
The online video-sharing restrictions hold that only state-operated sites are allowed to post videos, including any to be shared by end users. ISPs are now required to delete and report any manner of “inappropriate content,” as well.