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China bans 120 songs for 'harming social morality' online
Songs that trumpeted obscenity, violence, crime or harmed social morality have been banned in the Chinese web space. China, known for its strict web sensorship, already restricts access to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Tracks like "Don't Want to Go to School" and "All Must Die" will not be available in the Chinese web space anymore.
China has ordered nearly 120 songs to be pulled from the Internet because they promoted sex, violence or "incited law-breaking", authorities said.
No individual or organisation is allowed to provide the songs, which "trumpeted obscenity, violence, crime or harmed social morality", the Ministry of Culture said in a statement on Monday.
Most of the blacklisted tunes were by unknown singers or bands but had striking titles, including "No Money No Friend" and "Suicide Diary", a list attached to the statement showed.
The list provided "specific targets for Internet organisations' self-censorship", the ministry said, adding companies should "remove the products accurately, be aware of the bottom line and improve their service".
Anyone who does not comply "will be punished severely according to the law", it said.
China's Communist Party oversees a vast censorship system - dubbed the Great Firewall - that aggressively blocks sites or snuffs out content and commentary that is pornographic, violent or deemed politically sensitive.
Popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter and video streaming site YouTube are inaccessible in the country.
Several Western news organisations have accused Beijing of blocking access to their websites in the past, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.
