Over 11,000 online accounts punished for illegal, harmful content related to minors

BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Since the start of this year, Chinese cyberspace authorities have imposed punitive measures on more than 11,000 online accounts for publishing illegal and harmful content related to minors, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said on Friday.

The unregulated activities of these accounts typically take the form of parody and ridicule of minors, click-baiting, trolling, or misleading content, which have flouted the free will of minors, exploited them and capitalized on their personas, according to the CAC.

Under the watch of cyberspace authorities, these accounts are either blocked from commenting online, demonetized or shut down depending on the severity of their violations, said the CAC.

To protect the well-being of minors to the maximum extent possible, cyberspace authorities will guide internet platforms to take strict measures against unregulated content and accounts, and will work with public security organs to strengthen the crackdown on relevant illegal and criminal activities, said the CAC. ■