Chinese online media company Sina has been stripped of its online publication license after the Chinese government deemed that porn has been found on articles and videos hosted on its site, Xinhua reports.
The state media outlet said that according to China’s National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications, 20 articles and four videos on Sina.com contained pornographic content. Therefore, the company’s licenses for Internet publication and audio and video dissemination have been revoked, and it has been slapped with an undisclosed fine.
This means that when the hefty punishment takes effect, Sina may not be able to continue normal operations.
Reuters reports that Sina, which is listed in the US, saw its share price drop 4.5 percent after Xinhua broke the news.
Sina issued a statement apologizing for disseminating pornographic content. It said that although it has been working hard to ensure no porn is published on its site, it has indeed shown signs of lax monitoring. “As one of the most influential sites in the country, we didn’t do the utmost best to fulfil our responsibilities, and we feel sorry and ashamed,” it said.
The company said it deserved any punishment meted out by the government, but is working with various departments to minimize disruption to its business operations.
As a Web portal that primarily hosts content, Sina has been treading a fine line in dealing with the Chinese government. Alarm bells over an increase in original and user-generated content on China’s Web video services already started ringing back in 2012, when the Chinese government reached out to providers like Sina and Youku to inform them that they will be held responsible for all content posted to their services. Earlier this year, the Chinese government ordered those who upload a video online to use their real names.
Headline image via Bill Young/Flickr
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