China shuts down 162 lewd content websites

Beijing, Mar 31: China has shut down 162 websites that it found providing pornographic and lewd content in their audio or video segments.

According to a statement issued by the special operation office for crackdown on online porn and lewd content here on Monday, Mar 30 said that the blocked websites had not acquired permits to broadcast audio and video programs issued by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT).

The websites include www.baigujing.com, www.bt990.com and other sites based mainly in Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong Provinces.

A total of 341 audio and video sites have been blocked by the SARFT and the telecommunication authorities since Chinese Government launched a nationwide campaign in January to sweep off pornographic contents on the Internet.

Public distribution of pornography is illegal in China.

Authorities have vowed to beef up crackdown efforts in the following days and urged law-breakers to voluntarily turn themselves in to local public security departments.

Earlier, the statement said that the lewd websites have violated the top legislature's regulations and other laws regarding public distribution of sexual images, Xinhua reports.

ANI