China cracks down on ‘low taste’ content in renewed bid to clean the internet

China has punished video platforms including Alibaba-backed Youku and Baidu-backed iQiyi for carrying “low taste” content in a renewed effort to clean up the internet, a pornography watchdog said. Authorities have outlawed more than 12,000 websites and deleted 8.4 billion pieces of pornography-related content in the first half of the year in a “Cleaning the Web 2020” campaign, the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications said. It did not specify what it meant by pieces of content nor did it elaborate on the punishment meted out to the platforms except that it was “administrative penalties”. The office, in a…