97,000 blogs, microblogs closed over porn

BEIJING - Chinese authorities have shut down about 97,000 blog and microblog accounts over the past seven months which are allegedly involved in dissemination of pornographic and lewd content, the State Internet Information Office (SIIO) said Friday.

In the campaign to curb lewd content from spreading via the Internet and cellphones, authorities banned 164 pornographic publications, the office said.

A total of 287 Internet companies were investigated and punished in the campaign, it said, adding that public security authorities have cracked 2,446 cases of pornography, and 41 rings involved in pornography via the Internet were busted.

The office said the campaign was widely supported by society and the public, with the China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Center receiving 460,000 tip-offs from the public alone.