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China Lashes Out at Search Engines Over Porn

Tries to crackdown on 'vulgar' content

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 5, 2009 1:05 PM CST

(Newser) – China is accusing Google, local rival Baidu, and other top search engines and Web portals of threatening public morals by linking to porn and other “vulgar” content, the Financial Times reports. Such Web censorship campaigns aren’t uncommon in China, but this is the first time it’s gone after such mighty players.

China has been busily quashing dissent online, including a major democratic reform petition and demands for compensation in the poisoned milk scandal. But yesterday’s complaint focused solely on smut and other content deemed inappropriate for children. The editor-in-chief at China’s leading news portal, which was among the 19 sites named, said he wasn’t bothered by such crackdowns. “Ensuring your content is OK is a content provider’s responsibility,” he said.

In this July 28, 2005, file photo, a receptionist works behind the logo for Baidu.com, a Chinese language search engine, at the company's office in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

An etiquette girl is reflected on a big screen at Google's 2008 Xian winter marketing forum on November 20, 2008 in Xian of Shaanxi Province, China.

An etiquette girl is reflected on a big screen at Google's 2008 Xian winter marketing forum on November 20, 2008 in Xian of Shaanxi Province, China. (Getty Images)

Dr Liu Yun, Google's global vice-president, attends Google's 2008 Xian winter marketing forum on November 20, 2008, in Xian of Shaanxi Province, China.

Dr Liu Yun, Google's global vice-president, attends Google's 2008 Xian winter marketing forum on November 20, 2008, in Xian of Shaanxi Province, China. (Getty Images)

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Financial Times (UK) (Source Grid »)

Official state-run news service praises 'free voices on the Internet'
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