(Photo : Chinese State Internet Information Office)

A total of 274 websites have been closed by Chinese authorities due to suspicions that these sites provided pornographic and violent contents while 300 others were shut down for illegal operations, the State Internet Information Office announced.

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According to the SIIO, authorities ordered the closure of the website because aside from spreading pornographic content and violence, there were also those that spread false medical information. A statement from the SIIO said 300 websites were also stopped for engaging in illegal activities and online operations.

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.

Serious Online Campaign

The State Internet Information Office said government agencies are serious in their online campaign because they want to keep children from accessing potentially harmful, obscene, and illegal information during the summer vacation.

A statement from SIIO said these websites operated for months without being detected because these were registered with false information while others stole domain names and servers of websites that have already been abandoned by their operators.

Earlier, the Ministry of Culture said it has opened investigation into at least 180 websites on suspicions that these are involved in online piracy and other illegal activities.

Illegal Music Downloading

The ministry said it will be investigating 72 music websites, 67 animation sites and 46 gaming sites, to determine their content and conduct appropriate sanctions against its operators. Most of the websites being investigated are allegedly involved in providing illegal music and media downloading. Some are suspected of promoting online games without legal certificates, a statement from the ministry said.

China has launched a country-wide campaign against online piracy and illegal activities in February. So far, the Chinese government has investigated more than 2,700 cases involving CNY7.74 million or $1.23 million.