China Shutters Another 244 Sites

The Chinese government has shut down another 244 Web sites for hosting "vulgar" content, bringing its campaign's total to over 700.

China’s official Xinhua news agency reports that the Chinese government has shuttered another 244 Web sites for hosting “vulgar” content, bringing the total number of sites shut down in its current campaign to over 700. The new 244 closed sites follow 91 sites that were closed last week for offering pornographic or other content deemed vulgar by the Chinese government…including the well-known Bullog.cn blog hosting service.

According to Xinhau, about a third of the newly-closed sites had not registered with government agencies, and were violating laws regarding distribution of sexual images.

The shutdowns are part of a month-long campaign against Internet pornography launched by the State Information Office, Ministry of Public Security, and Ministry of Culture, as well as four other government agencies.

China is well-known for operating the most elaborate the thorough Internet censorship and firewalling operation on the planet. The Chinese government regularly blocks and shuts down sites and Web pages with information about Tibetan independence, the Falun Gong spiritual movement, as well as pro-democracy sites and writings. The Chinese government has also arrested and imprisoned pro-democracy bloggers…sometimes with the help of U.S.-based Internet companies like Yahoo operating in China.