China expanding internet porn crackdown to chat rooms, IM, video downloads

It's been a month since the online internet porn crackdown, and now China is planning to expand its crusade to cellphone websites, chat rooms, video download services and instant messenger groups.

"Internet pornography is not only preventing the healthy development of the country's Internet services, but also eroding people's mind, destroying the moral standard of the society and endangering young people's healthy growth," said Liu Yunshan, China's top official in charge of media and publicity, at a meeting here Friday.

Liu said the crackdown would be extended to contents on cell phone Web sites, chat rooms, instant messenger groups, video download services and other VIP member sections.

The government would launch a round of double checks on the Web sites that had been previously warned to remove any lewd content. Those sites that played around the warning by changing their Internet address or page appearances will be "severely punished," he said.

Liu said the government would "crush the vitality of pornography Web sites to the utmost and chop off the profit chains that porn sites feed on."

The crackdown has shut down 1,635 sites and 217 blogs so far. Some annoyed netizens have started protesting against the censorship effort by dressing up images of famous renaissance nudes. For instance, Michelangelo's David was given a Mao suit to cover up his nakedness. Check out some hilarious other ones here.

Source: Xinhua