China launched a crackdown on online pornography and "unhealthy" Web content
after Chinese President Hu Jintao said the country's sprawling Internet posed a
threat to social stability.
Rights groups have said the campaign has been used as a thinly veiled pretext
to crack down on dissent and round up online dissidents ahead of the Olympics.
Xinhua said authorities had also investigated 524 criminal cases involving
online porn and "penalized" another 1,911 people.
Some 440,000 "pornographic messages" had also been deleted, the agency said.
China has attempted to stifle online criticism of the ruling Communist Party
and discussion related to sensitive topics such as Tibet and Taiwan by ordering
Web sites to register with authorities.
Authorities registered 199,000 Web sites last year, Xinhua said, but refused
14,000 for failing to get official registration or to apply for official
approval.
China employs tens of thousands of human Internet censors and a vast network of
filters to control online information.
The anti-pornography campaign would continue until September, Xinhua said,
"after the Beijing Olympic Games end".
China last month said it would crack down on video-sharing Web sites, and allow
only state-controlled sites to post video content online in new restrictions
effective from January 31.
