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Friends, couples free to send 'erotic' text messages in Hunan

By Uking Sun (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-01-23 15:50

Changsha: Friends and couples in central China's Hunan province will not be punished if they send a small number of "unhealthy" or erotic text messages among themselves, the Xiaoxiang Morning News reported Saturday.

"This falls within the field of normal communication. The cell phone will not be shut down, and the message function of the cell phone will not be affected," said a customer service person of China Mobile's Hunan branch, who didn't disclose his name.

He also said the anti-pornography crackdown campaign on mobile phones will focus on those who sent a large amount of pornographic text messages for profit-making. Text messages, such as a message sent by hotels saying that "we look for female and male PR staff with a salary up to 10,000 yuan," will be reported to police, he told the reporter. In this context, "PR staff" is an euphemism for sexual service providers.

China Mobile, China's biggest mobile phone operator, plans to temporarily suspend the text message function for "illegal or unhealthy" content. The policy has been controversial, with some accusing it an infringement of privacy.