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Fighting the obscene, pornographic, and unhealthy—an analysis of the nature, extent, and regulation of China’s online pornography within a global context

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Abstract

China’s Internet development has experienced an explosive growth in the last two decades. As China became the largest Internet user in the world, cyber crimes presented a new challenge. In its efforts to combat cyber crimes, the Chinese government singled out online pornography and labeled it “online narcotics.” Using the reports of online pornography found in the People’s Daily, a leading national newspaper, this study examines the extent and nature of online pornography in China’s unique context and how the Chinese government has worked to counter such crimes. The analyses of the official reports indicate that the number of China’s porn users has reached millions and continues to grow. To combat such behavior, the Chinese government has adopted a number of countermeasures such as increased law-making, strengthened law enforcement, and the use of new technology. While these countermeasures parallel those of other nations, China’s regulation also presents a number of unique features, such as its broad and sweeping control of online pornographic and unhealthy material for both adults and juveniles, its campaign-style policing, and its emphasis on building consensus with little dissenting opinion. China’s overreaching and proactive approach indicates substantial differences in national standards, value systems, and legal practices between China and many other nations.

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Notes

  1. While different labels and definitions of cyber crimes have been used in the academic community (e.g., computer crimes, digital crimes, Internet crimes), legal practitioners categorize various cyber crimes into one of three classes: 1) cyber crimes that involve the use of digital technologies (as a means) in the commission of the offense; 2) cyber crimes that are directed at computing and communications technologies; or 3) cyber crimes that are incidental to the commission of other conventional crimes (e.g., [16, 23, 76]).

  2. Admittedly, it is possible for non-Chinese citizens and/or Chinese-speakers who live outside of China to visit and register at those porn websites. The assumption is, however, that at least the majority of porn users here are Chinese people living in China.

  3. Granted that different schools of feminism may hold dramatically different opinions towards both prostitution and pornography (e.g., [17, 19, 32]), the fact that the Chinese government did not cite any pro anti-pornography feminist arguments to support its regulation over the years is itself surprising and interesting, a topic deserving further examination in the future.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Cindy Dobson for her thorough editorial review and all anonymous reviewers for their careful review, comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oklahoma State University-Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, USA

    Bin Liang

  2. University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA

    Hong Lu

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Liang, B., Lu, H. Fighting the obscene, pornographic, and unhealthy—an analysis of the nature, extent, and regulation of China’s online pornography within a global context. Crime Law Soc Change 58, 111–130 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-012-9380-3

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