China Carries On Anti-piracy Campaign (Photo : Getty Images)
The Haidian District People’s Court in Beijing sentenced up to three and a half years prison term the former CEO of Shenzhen QVOD Technology and three other executives for spreading pornography for profit.
Wang Xin was sentenced on Tuesday and fined 1 million yuan, or $149,254. The three executives – Zhang Kedong, Wu Ming and Niu Wenju – were also given the same length of prison sentence and fines of up to 500,000 yuan each. Shenzhen QVOD was also penalized 10 million yuan, reported Global Times.
The company is a peer-to-peer video streaming site with 300 million users. Xinhua reported that 21,521 of the 29,841 files that police got from the three QVOD servers in 2013 were pornographic. Most of the files were also pirated content. The firm charged users and advertisers which allowed it to generate revenue of more than 140 million yuan in 2013.
In January, at the first trial, the four initially denied the accusations. But on Friday, Zhang admitted QVOD earned revenues based on user numbers. Wang said that he opted to choose company interest over social responsibility. He admitted that spreading pornography harmed others, especially adolescents. Wang acknowledged he broke the law and neglected his duty.
It was not the first sanction against QVOD which was punished in August 2013 by Shenzhen broadcast and media authorities. However, despite the punishment, the firm continued with spreading graphic content because of the huge income it brought the company, reported Xinhua News Agency.
