2014 Net Cleaning Operation

Recently, Sohu issued a statement calling for the 'joint creation of a clean cyberspace,' Qvod was investigated by the police, and Sina Reading had its license revoked... The grand 'Clean Internet Action 2014' is now brewing, targeting an increasing amount of online content involving pornography, violence, or infringement. This time, the operation is no longer limited to publishing a so-called scoreboard listing the closure of XXX illegal websites; it directly points to several major internet 'giants,' prompting netizens to exclaim, 'The clean internet campaign is hitting the big tigers too, it seems they are serious.'

"This clean internet campaign is not ordinary."

On April 13, the nationwide 'Anti-Pornography and Anti-Illegal Publications' working group office, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Public Security jointly launched the 'Anti-Pornography and Anti-Illegal Publications·Clean Internet 2014' special operation. On April 16, the national 'Anti-Pornography and Anti-Illegal Publications' office announced through Xinhua News Agency that the 'Clean Internet' operation had legally dealt with 198 websites that posted pornographic information. However, this type of annual situation report did not cause much of a response on the internet.

Among the many internet giants, Sohu was the first to sense 'an extraordinary move' and react. On April 18, Sohu sent a letter to its users, stating that 'although the internet world is open and diverse, it also has the same bottom lines and order as the real society, and pornographic information cannot be allowed to spread,' and listed multiple cooperation measures ranging from website management to frontline editing and reporting.

Under the nationwide wave of internet cleansing, major internet companies like Tencent and Xunlei also responded and made countermeasures. Tencent announced through multiple channels such as Weibo and WeChat, stating that it would strictly investigate various types of illegal pornographic information, crack down on the dissemination of pornographic illegal information, and make efforts to cooperate with the national 'Anti-Pornography and Anti-Illegal Publications·Clean Internet 2014' special operation.

Sina, however, faced a severe crackdown—for allegedly disseminating pornographic information, Sina Reading had its 'Internet Publishing License' and 'Information Network Dissemination of Audiovisual Program License' legally revoked, and the channel editor was transferred to the public security authorities for investigation on suspicion of committing a crime. As the first among the four major portal sites to be rectified, Sina was regarded by netizens as the 'big tiger' in the 'Clean Internet Action.'

According to a report by NetEase Entertainment on April 24, many personal accounts of Japanese adult film actors on Sina Weibo could no longer be accessed. Several game companies also received notices stating that game characters must not expose sensitive body parts."The day that will come sooner or later"\The scope of the action is not limited to pornographic content; it also includes issues like incomplete copyright and content involving violence, which are within the scope of this cleanup.\On April 24, Sina user "Spicy Silly Girl" discovered that the recently popular romance drama on Sohu Video, "Bu Bu Jing Qing," suddenly stopped updating, with the reason cited as "policy reasons." Many other video websites, also due to copyright reasons, have locked or deleted a large number of previously available videos that were operating in a legal gray area.\Popular European and American dramas, pursued by video websites and favored by users, may face content adjustments due to censorship issues. Hit American shows such as "The Big Bang Theory" and "The Good Wife" have been removed from websites including Youku, Tencent Video, and Sohu Video. It has been reported that CCTV will broadcast a "green version" of "The Big Bang Theory." Many American drama fans are expressing that this is "unbearable," but more users maintain a positive attitude, believing that censoring American dramas is beneficial for further regulating the operation of online video industries.\In this action, apart from Sina, the announcement by Qvod to shut down its servers caused the largest online reaction. Qvod had long provided many unauthorized videos for online viewing or downloading through its video-on-demand technology, gaining large popularity among users. However, with the investigation of the Qvod company, the "Qvod model" has come to an end.\With Qvod “dead,” many forums for video downloads are no exception. Although widespread "lamentation" appeared on platforms such as Weibo, in fact, most users were only venting their emotions in a joking manner. "Everyone knows this day would come sooner or later; it's just emotionally hard to accept that it's today," said user "Dang Shang Ze Shang."\Some users also questioned why some forums or software, which only provide movies for free viewing for appreciation or study, with notes in the videos such as "This video is from the internet, for personal study only, please delete within 24 hours," were also shut down.\In response, Liu Hui, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Haidian District, Beijing, explained in an online interview with the Justice News WeChat platform that although many websites do not charge users, they earn profits through pop-up ads or other methods, and if illegal gains reach more than 30,000 yuan, it also constitutes a crime; as for the so-called disclaimers in the videos, they are invalid. Without the permission of the copyright holder, it constitutes infringement.\Reprinted from other websites.