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Christian Living

chinaconnection 01/24/08

China Cracks Down On Internet Porn

When it comes to Internet pornography, the numbers are staggering.  In 2006, 4.2 million websites, roughly 12% of all Internet sites were pornographic, constituting 420 million pages worldwide.  In China alone, revenues from pornography were $27.4 billion.

To reduce the number of online porn sites, the Chinese government has launched a campaign that has already shut down 44,000 websites.  Wednesday they announced the arrest of 33 people involved with a "real-time" porn site, which is thought to be one of the more significant providers of that material.

But beyond the 868 people who have been detained, and 440,000 postings that have been purged from the Internet, remains the lingering question of the overall effectiveness of this campaign.  It will end September, 2008, which is conveniently right after the Olympics.

Judging from the number of individuals hwo have been arrested as part of this campaign, it's definitely sending a strong message to those involved in China's illegal pornography industries.  On the other hand, how effective will it ultimately be if the end date is in sight. 

Imagine if the US efforts against drugs, online child pornography, or domestic violence were no longer an issue after September.  At the very least, there would be many happy drug dealers, but chances are that the instances of these offenses would definitely increase next year. 

Why is maintaining the appearance of a pornography-free (or at least pornography-reduced) Olympic Games so vital to the officials?  Will these efforts practically make any real social changes? 

The temporary nature of this campaign seems fairly strange, especially since websites can be manufactured very quickly.  It would be much easier to rebuild a website than, for example, hot spots in the red light district.  Of course, online porn definitely has a larger target audience.

Even if the pornography sites aren't necessarily Chinese-based, with 4.2 million pornography websites and counting worldwide, it's not that hard to find online, whether or not you're looking for them.

Granted, China's firewall has effectively censored many websites nationwide, and it can be difficult to find certain sites you could access anywhere else in the world, like the BBC.  When it comes to technology relating to Internet security and regulations, no country even compares to China. 

Thousands of Internet carefully view the details of China's 210 Internet users every day.  Even with all of these sensors, it's still not impossible to break through the firewall in order to view banned materials.

I suppose publiclly speaking out against pornography, which some Chinese officials say has "perverted China's young minds," is a positive step towards promoting a "harmonious society."  But if the campaign's end is soon in sight, will it even appear to achieve its objectives? 

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