China is warning the country’s telecom networks to ensure students involved in remote learning aren’t exposed to online gambling and porn promos.
On Monday, the Internet Security Bureau of China’s Ministry of Public Security issued a notice via its official WeChat account to warn telecom firms that it was launching a four-month “special rectification of the network environment for online classes in primary and secondary schools.”
The message noted that students’ increasing use of online education during the pandemic is being ruined by pop-up ads promoting “illegal and harmful information” such as pornography and gambling. Members of the public are being asked to report any incidents in which their kids are exposed to “vulgar and harmful information.”
The Ministry in increasingly enlisting the public to help combating online gambling. In June, the Ministry launched a public snitch line for online gambling tips, while some provincial authorities are promising to pay for tips that result in prosecutions.