WeChat shuts 20 million prostitution-related accounts

Tencent, the operator of WeChat, or Weixin, a popular instant messaging service in China, said Wednesday it has shut down 20 million prostitution-related WeChat accounts so far this year.

A three-month-long crackdown on cyber crime was initiated in February by police in south China's Guangdong Province, where Tencent is headquartered. The crackdown targeted online pornography and the spread of viruses on the Internet.

Tencent also closed 30,000 accounts that were selling fake goods on WeChat. Ten million illegal and fake advertisements have been pulled off on a daily basis over the past few months, the statement added.

In support of the campaign, Tencent set up a fund of 10 million yuan (1.6 million U.S. dollars) to encourage the public to report such crimes. So far, 250,000 yuan has been handed out, according to the statement.

WeChat now has over 600 million users, according to Tencent.