China's ongoing online porn crackdown to purge innocuous mobile apps and video sites of x-rated content has led state media to target one particular social app, the hugely popular Momo, Tech In Asia reports.
According to Xinhua, the flirting app is being used by sex workers to lure unwitting men to pay for sex services by inviting them out on 'dates'.
However, the report says that some of the women are making it perfectly clear that they're offering the services, by listing their location as a particular spa, karaoke hall (or street corner?) where they work.
Xi Jinping's government has strengthened its fight against internet porn recently, explaining the directive is crucial to "create a healthy cyberspace". Run by the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications, the clean-up has scoured mobile app stores, video streaming sites, ebooks, public photos, and online ads to check for illicit material. If sexually suggestive material is found, the web administrators must tidy up their site. However, if outright porn is found, the website will be shut down.
Alongside porn, authorities are taking to the streets to combat the nationwide prostitution problem. Despite being illegal in China, sex services are widely available and can be found in seemingly innocent locations like massage parlours, malls, bar and even hair salons. A recent crackdown saw in the southern city of Dongguan saw 162 people related to prostitution arrested, with 22 corrupt policemen from the "capital of sex" also being punished for allowing the sex trade to flourish.
But as Tech In Asia notes, apps like Momo are not encouraging prostitution, it is the sex workers who are exploiting the app's functions to market their services. As they put it, the "core responsibility lies with authorities who allow the industry – one often based on abuse and exploitation of women – to prosper in the shadows."
[Image via Momo]
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