A man from Yunnan Province, China has been sentenced to six months in prison for managing a WeChat group that shared hundreds of pornographic videos over the course of two weeks.
The 31-year-old man, surnamed Luo, created a WeChat group called “Border Antique Auction” in February 2017 to showcase different antiques, The Paper reported via Shanghaiist.
This year, however, the group began sharing more than just their interesting collectibles.
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From March 31 to April 10, an average of 46 inappropriate videos was shared per day, totaling 515 videos over 11 days, according to authorities.
As the manager, Luo had changed the WeChat group name several times to avoid being caught, and at the time of shut down, had amassed 150 members.
Luo was arrested back in May and during his trial in August, Luo pleaded guilty to spreading obscene content over the messaging app. This week, the local government sentenced him to six months in prison. The se ntence is considered to be minor since Luo had shown regret for his actions and was a first-time offender.
As part of China’s new rules involving WeChat — which exceeds over 1 billion active accounts worldwide — along with other social media apps, WeChat group administrators and managers would be legally responsible for all content shared within their groups.
Earlier this month, a pair of foreigners posted racist insults in a WeChat group, including the topic of the Nanjing Massacre. The Shenzhen police launched an investigation into the situation.
Feature Image via Microsiervos Geek Crew (CC BY 2.0)
