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BEIJING - Chinese authorities are serious about keeping pornography from corrupting their society: Sending pornographic text messages or images between mobile phones can land Beijing residents in detention for two weeks and cost them fines of up to 3,000 yuan (about US $385), according to state-run media outlet Xinhua.
The crackdown comes in the wake of recent police raids on second-hand phone dealers who were found to be selling storage devices containing pornographic images and videos. The chips, which sold for five or six yuan (about US 60-80 cents) each, had the capacity to contain an hour-long video.

Within the past three weeks, police have arrested 19 dealers who now face jail terms of between six months and three years, Beijing public security authorities told Xinhua.
Although pornography in any form is illegal in China, state media have reported that access to the Internet and rising mobile phone usage in the country have increased Chinese citizens' ability to obtain adult entertainment.

China, which is reported to have 461 mobile phone subscribers, is second only to the U.S. in Internet penetration with 137 million people online, according to reports.

courtesy of avn