Chinese social network Sina Weibo says it will wipe out gay-themed and violent contents to comply with China’s new cybersecurity regulations. This news has triggered protests using the hashtag #IAmGay that was used 170,000 times before it was completely banned.
The popular microblogging platform announced that it will be a three-month ‘clean-up campaign’ targeting “manga (Japanese comics), videos with pornographic implications, promoting violence (related to) homosexuality.” even games that have violent content like Grand Theft Auto.
Users said, “There can be no homosexuality under socialism?” according to AFP. “It is unbelievable that China progresses economically and militarily but returns to the feudal era in terms of ideas.”
Sina Weibo has more than 400 million active monthly users and already removed 56, 240 contents and 108 users that are said to be against the regulation.
Since 1997, China’s decriminalized homosexuality and in 2001 it was declassified as a mental illness.
China’s been strictly implementing censorship under President Xi Jinping, a socialist ideology advocate.
Sadly, there’s nothing users can do to stop these regulations. And as the time pass, numbers will just increase as Weibo find contents to remove during the campaign.
