China's anti-pornography authority said Wednesday that it will resolutely fight pornographic and sexually suggestive online marketing, a day after a 3-hour live online advertisement for a new product by condom maker Durex drew an audience of over 5 million.
Durex live-broadcast 100 couples trying their new condom on 100 beds on Tuesday night via six online video service providers.
The company promoted the broadcast with voyeurism-themed ads, implying the program would show couples having sex. However, the couples in the live advertisement simply moved beds, chatted and ate fruit. Many netizens complained they were tricked by the broadcast, saying "nothing happened until the end."
After the broadcast, many Net users questioned the Web platforms' judgement in agreeing to air Durex's content in spite of authorities' crackdown on obscene content, media outlet tech.qq.com reported.
In response to such practices, the National Anti-Pornography and Anti-Illegal Publications Office announced Wednesday on Sina Weibo that the office will devote a great deal of attention to vulgar marketing and soft-core pornography on live broadcasting platforms.
The Xinhua News Agency reported on April 14 that 25 Chinese live broadcasting platforms, including the popular douyu.com and yy.com, have been blacklisted for hosting violent or obscene content.
The Ministry of Culture said all Internet-based service providers must bear legal responsibility for the content of their websites, and violators will be punished.
