Internet regulator asks public to support pornography trial

China's Internet regulator asked Internet users to support the judicial organ during a live open trial of a video service firm suspected of spreading porn.

On Sunday, Jiang Jun, spokesperson of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), said all Internet-based services providers must bear legal responsibility for their content, which is a fundamental principle of the governance and development of China's Internet.

"We firmly support the legal investigation of Qvod's case involving pornography," Jiang said.

"We hope that Internet users stick to the bottom line in making opinions online and support the judicial organs handling of the case," according to Jiang.

He said the open trial would educate and warn China's websites and Internet users against similar offenses.

Jiang's remarks came as four executives of Qvod stood trail on Thursday and Friday in Beijing, charged with spreading pornography for profit. The trial was broadcast live over the microblog of the Haidian District People's Court in Beijing, where the case was handled.

Wang Xin, former CEO of Qvod, claimed the company itself was not responsible for spreading information. He blamed the pornographic content on third parties.

According to the prosecution, 21,251 of 29,841 files which police obtained from three servers related to Qvod in Haidian contained porn.

The court did not announce verdicts at the trial.

Jiang said online pornography pollutes the society and harms the growth of minors, so the public has urged the authority to crack down on it. China issued a number of regulations and judicial interpretations on the issue.

He asked Internet users to give tip-offs on offenders.

Founded in 2007, Qvod offered videos through peer-to-peer video streaming technology and its user base quickly grew to 300 million.