Google took steps to
block pornographic images in China after the government there complained that the Mountain View, Calif. company was serving up pornography to Chinese Internet users on its search engine. China has
begun blocking some Chinese-language search engine results it deems pornographic, and wants Google to do more to combat explicit sexual content, according to China's official news agency.
A Google spokesperson has confirmed that company representatives have met with government representatives to discuss the issue of serving up pornographic images and content based on searches
on Google.cn. "We have been continually working to deal with pornographic content -- and materials harmful to children -- on the Web in China," the spokesperson says. "We are undertaking a thorough
review of our service and taking all necessary steps to fix any problems."
Although this has been a "substantial engineering effort," Google believes it has addressed the majority of the problem,
but continues to meet with Chinese government officials to address concerns.
The move follows a mandate by the Chinese government that all PCs sold in the country, as of July 1, include Web
filtering software. It's the government's latest attempt to clean up Internet pornography in the country. The effort to either block or sweep cyberspace of the content has been ongoing for years.
Li Changchun, member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Political Bureau, urged a severe crackdown on pornographic Internet content, "stressing there should be
no slackening of efforts to punish the 'vulgar trend' in the cyberworld," China's official news agency reports.