
After shutting down more than 270 pornographic and violent websites last year, the Chinese government is launching another round of campaign aimed at stopping the spread of pornographic content on the Internet.



Dubbed "Cleaning the Web 2014", the campaign involves thoroughly checking websites, mobile app stores, search engines, set-top boxes and Internet TV USB sticks to ensure these do not contain nor promote pornography, the country's anti-porn agency said on Sunday (China time).



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In a circular, the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications said during the campaign, which will last until November of this year, online texts, videos, photos and advertisements with pornographic content will be erased.



The office is just one of the four government agencies tasked in the campaign against the spread of pornography on the Internet. The other three agencies are the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Internet Information Office (SIIO).



Administrative licenses of websites, channels and blogs found to promote pornography will be revoked. The agencies can also shut down the websites, depending on the gravity of the offense.



On Sunday, the national office has urged owners of websites, web portals, and operators of telecoms to conduct self-check and clean up information and links related to pornography to avoid penalty or shut down.



In 2012, the national office has deleted more than 3.7 million pieces of information online that involved pornography. One person, who allegedly was a ringleader in Beijing, was meted 14 years imprisonment after he was found guilty of selling over 35,000 porno products.



Last year, the SIIO, one of the four agencies tasked against online pornography, said it has shut down 274 websites due to their involvement in pornography and violent contents.



Authorities ordered the closure of the website because aside from spreading pornographic content and violence, there were also those that spread false medical information.



The closure of the websites was carried out during the mid-July campaign launched by several government agencies to crack down on pornography, violence, and illegal activities in Chinese websites.

