Thousands of net users across China have reacted strongly after pornographic videos and still photographs of children were uploaded on Youku.com, the Chinese equivalent of the video sharing platform of YouTube.
There are more than 538 million internet users in China -- the largest number in the world -- and the Youku.com is a popular platform to share movies and music.
The photographs and videos caught the attention of angry net users after one user put it up on an online community of the state-run People’s Daily called Chinapic to catch the attention of the authorities.
The content – as many as 68 videos, according to the People’s Daily online -- shows little boys and girls in the shower, taking a bath, wearing makeup; some adults are also shown in the content, apparently cleaning up the children.
In one photograph, a girl, barely four or five is shown holding an adult’s undergarment.
“Uploaded to sections named "Baby Show" or "Maternal and Child Channel”, as many as 68 videos feature naked young girls, close-up of their sensitive parts; moreover, provocative words like “young girls taking bath" and "nude" are used as titles to attract viewers. Youku editors collected nearly 100 such videos and publicly spread them,” the website said.
{{/usCountry}}“Uploaded to sections named "Baby Show" or "Maternal and Child Channel”, as many as 68 videos feature naked young girls, close-up of their sensitive parts; moreover, provocative words like “young girls taking bath" and "nude" are used as titles to attract viewers. Youku editors collected nearly 100 such videos and publicly spread them,” the website said.
{{/usCountry}}Some young girls were shown to be in certain positions and poses, which probably indicate that these pictures and videos were tailored to certain perverse tastes.
Internet users left angry comments, questioning the popular website’s decision to allow users to upload such content, and urged the government to take swift action.
It is likely that the disturbing content and the comments have also caught the attention of the Internet Affairs Bureau, which keeps track of content on the web.
Chinese authorities recently shut down 535 microblog account – the Chinese version of twitter-like social networking sites -- distributing pornographic and lewd content.
Some suspects were found to have used their microblog accounts to distribute video clips, pictures, text and links related to topics such as "one-night stands," "flirtatious self-shots and candid images" and "teen prostitution," according to a statement from the State Internet Information Office.