Online media forum in Xiamen to foster healthy net environment

XIAMEN: A senior Chinese official has urged the country's online media to help foster a healthy and safe network environment.

Wang Chen, minister of the State Council Information Office, said at the ongoing forum on online media opened in Xiamen onTuesday that online security has become an increasingly prominent issue.

Hacker attacks, network virus and online fraud were posing threats to the Internet safety and web porns were preying on the minors, he said.

He urged online media to adjust to the new situations, be responsible, refrain from spreading rumors, and help create a healthy growth environment for the minors.

China had 360 million Internet users as of the end of September, the most in the world, and nearly 200 million mobile phone users also obtain Internet services from their phones.

China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Center (CIIRC) said Tuesday it had received a rising number of tip-offs of porn WAP sites.

The Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have launched a campaign since August to eradicate lewd contents from the Internet.

Latest statistics showed 1,179 people have been detained and 6,972 websites and online columns have been shut down. Among them, 586 were porn mobile WAP sites and columns.

SOURCE: Xinhua