China shuts 97,000 blogs, online porn accounts

 As part of its anti-pornography drive, Chinese authorities have shut down about 97,000 blog and microblog accounts for spreading pornography and lewd content.

According to State Internet Information Office, authorities closed the accounts over the past seven months, Xinhua reported.

To curb lewd content from spreading via the Internet and cellphones, authorities banned 164 pornographic publications, the office said.

A total of 287 Internet companies were probed and punished during the campaign, it said.

The office also said public security authorities have cracked 2,446 cases of pornography, and 41 rings involved in pornography via the Internet were busted.