Fighting unhealthy content

Recently the State Administration of Press and Publication, and the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications launched a crackdown on literature websites publishing vulgar and obscene content, disseminating improper information, or involved in copyright infringement.

It’s reported that authorities have shut down over 400 such websites in China and overseas since May.

Authorities say readership of online literature in China exceeds 400 million, mostly teenagers. Being exposed to vio¬lent or pornographic online content at a young age could be detrimental to their development.

Admittedly, there are occassionally good works with thrilling storylines posted by unknown authors. Some lit¬erature websites also serve as platforms for fledgling writers or freelancers to get their works to the market faster than they could via traditional methods. With literature thriving online, publishing is no longer a privilege restricted to profes¬sional writers.

However, the low threshold of web lit¬erature and lack of effective management have been exploited by unscrupulous authors to spread unhealthy content for profit, and impresionable teenagers are just some of the victims.

The authorities’ should tighten its grip on the content of literature websites, and Internet companies should be made to pay dearly for any unhealthy content they have created.