The Porn Trial That’s Captivating China’s Internet

The porn industry is known for driving innovation online. After the live-streamed trial on pornography charges of four Chinese Internet executives went viral over the weekend, it’s now driving an unusually vigorous debate in China over how the Internet should be managed.

“We believe there’s nothing shameful about technology.”

— Wang Xin, the CEO of Shenzhen Qvod Technology

At the center of the debate is Wang Xin, the CEO of Shenzhen Qvod Technology Co. Ltd., which is best known for running the widely used online video player called Kuaibo. Mr. Wang spirited self-defense in the face of allegations he helped disseminate thousands of sex videos has turned him into something of a Chinese Larry Flynt.

Similar to the Hustler publisher, who famously used his pornographic publishing empire to test the legal bounds of free speech in the U.S., Mr. Wang used the popularity of his company’s video platform to try to turn the tables on China’s Internet censorship regime.

[Read the full story here, at China Real Time Report – WSJ]

Prosecutors alleged in the two-day trial in Beijing late last week that Qvod executives knew their video platform, Kuaibo, was a popular tool for watching porn and did nothing to stop it. They said porn videos, which are illegal in China, made up 70% of the 30,000 files police had pulled from servers connected to Kuaibo. Mr. Wang’s argument, delivered in a spirited and well-prepared defense that drew applause online: The company was responsible for producing the platform, not policing what people did with it.

“We believe there’s nothing shameful about technology,” Mr. Wang told the Haidian District Court in Beijing.

Efforts by governments to hold the creators of online platforms responsible for the content their users post are hardly new. In early days of the Internet, U.S. companies like Google, Yahoo and America Online faced a slew of lawsuits — and a piece of legislation known as the Communications Decency Act — that attempted to hold them legally liable for hosting vulgar, misleading or illegal content. Generally, those efforts ended in failure.

In China, the outsourcing of censorship to the websites themselves is a central part of authorities’ strategy in trying to keep tight control over 650 million Internet users and the hundreds of news, video and social media sites they visit. Some technology companies consider the requirement a costly measure that stifles innovation.

Beijing has also increasingly tried to use criminal courts to regulate behavior online and quash rumors and criticisms of the government while also cracking down on porn and other illicit content.

Profiting from the dissemination for pornography — the charge Mr. Wang and three other Qvod executives face — carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, but it’s unlikely they’ll face such a stiff penalty, according to Zhang Zhiyong, a member of the Qvod legal team. Local courts like the Haidian District Court are not authorized to issue life sentences, Mr. Zhang said, adding that it wasn’t clear when or how the court might issue a final ruling.

Prosecutors and the Haidian court did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Mr. Wang and the other executives on trial either couldn’t be reached or declined to comment.

The Qvod trial was broadcast live as well as live-blogged on the Sina web portal, attracting millions of views and generating tens of thousands of comments….(read more)

– Josh Chin with contributions from Olivia Geng. Follow Josh on Twitter @joshchin

Source: China Real Time Report – WSJ

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