Internet – the People’s war against porn

 

When in China the government declares something a “People’s” war it is time to pay attention. So many other governmental priorities come and go, but a people’s war mean serious business.

Compared to other countries that try to censor the internet – like the Saudi’s – pornography has never been very high on China’s list of potential evils, also the Berkman Center for Internet and Society discovered last year. Governmental action in China concentrated on more political dissent, Falun Gong and social unrest. That is changing now, as the online porn industry proved to be a rather profitable one, more than any other online business. On top of that, the Chinese online population has pornography higher on its agenda than any other official concern.

A specially set up website by the government in June got in three days time almost 5,000 complaints, most of then complaining about pornography. That has caused a policy change and the Shanghai police announced on Monday they had in a ten-day campaign already confiscated 170 servers and arrested 42 people. Nationwide 500 websites have been closed.