AI taking center stage in the fight against online pornography

Technological advances are improving the accuracy of detection. Cao Yin reports.

In addition to providing a mine of information and making people's lives easier, China's rapidly developing internet is threatened by the presence of undesirable and illegal content, not least the rising volume of pornography being uploaded illicitly.

From January to June, more than 27 million pornographic videos and images were detected and deleted, while 62,000 websites and smartphone applications were taken offline, according to statistics provided by the National Office against Pornographic and Illegal Publications.

Given the massive amount of information uploaded and disseminated online every day, internet companies and the government urgently need to find a way to effectively identify pornographic content to ensure that cyberspace is kept free of illegal and potentially corrupting material, the office said.