Some can be purchased for only 3 yuan, be wary of pornographic comics being easily found online resources | comics | pornography
On e-commerce platforms, journalists search for "comics" as a keyword, and a large number of merchants selling comic resources appear. The reporter consulted several merchants and found that many of the comic resources sold contain themes related to pornography and violence. Some of them only need to pay 3 yuan to purchase, and merchants do not inquire about the buyer's age. Minors can make purchases at will
Some criminal gangs will take advantage of the social characteristics of minors to attract and promote them on websites such as comics, games, and novels that minors often browse. By offering rewards, encourage users to share relevant links and continuously expand their user base. Many comics also leave dedicated social group numbers and QR codes to remind readers of the benefits of joining groups, in order to attract readers to join
Parents and teachers should promptly grasp their children's movements, guide them correctly when they discover any negative tendencies, and report to the public security organs as soon as necessary. Relevant departments should pay attention to websites such as comics, games and novels that the minors pay more attention to, increase prevention and attack efforts, improve the level of sophistication and technology in handling cases, and promote self-discipline in the Internet industry and the implementation of platform governance responsibilities
"I will be taking the high school entrance exam in a few days, and I won't be able to read our comic pictures these days." "It's okay, I'll save it for you after updating the serialization, and you can see it after you finish the exam." This is an online conversation between a 15-year-old junior high school student and a customer service representative for "Shy Comics.".
The police officers of the task force found this information while flipping through the backend records.
Not long ago, the National Office for Combating Pornography and Illegal Publications announced the top ten cases of "cracking down on pornography and illegal publications" in 2022, among which the case of "Shy Comics" spreading obscene materials for profit in Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province was listed. This case is different from traditional cases of profiting from the dissemination of obscene materials, involving over 3 million paying members, many of whom are minors.
According to police investigation, a major feature of the "Shy Manga" case is that the criminal gang targets the underage group. This app attracts and promotes comics, games, novels, and other websites that are frequently browsed by minors, especially during holidays when the promotion efforts are strengthened.
Experts interviewed by the Legal Daily recently believe that the undercurrent of pornography in the online space should not be underestimated. Minors are not yet fully developed in terms of physical and mental development, and have poor control when facing temptations. Parents and teachers should timely grasp their children's movements, and guide them correctly when they discover any negative tendencies. If necessary, they should report to the public security organs as soon as possible. Relevant departments should pay attention to websites such as comics, games and novels that the minors pay more attention to, increase prevention and attack efforts, improve the level of sophistication and technology in handling cases, and promote self-discipline in the Internet industry and the implementation of platform governance responsibilities.
Using pornographic and obscene content
Attracting minors to watch
A few days after entering summer vacation, Mr. Zhou, who lives in Fengtai District, Beijing, found his 14-year-old son Fanfan a bit strange. It wasn't until a surprise inspection that he discovered that Fan Fan was actually watching pornographic comics on his phone.
"I blushed when I saw those exposed scenes. What do words like 'forced kiss' and' sacrifice 'mean?" Mr. Zhou said that in a certain comic app, there are many scenes of women wearing nudity, couples embracing each other, and even men embracing each other. Almost all the push notifications are borderline comics, and some comic books even have very revealing cover images. In the manga "Internship XX" that Fan Fan reads, soft pornographic images can be seen everywhere. In addition, some comic content, even without pornographic scenes, can still make people feel teased and tempted.
Xiaomei, who is studying in junior high school in Beijing, told reporters that some anti beauty comics are indeed quite popular between her and her classmates, and these comics must be a bit "dirty" and have some "meat selling" elements in order for people to read them.
In addition to vulgar, revealing, and suggestive content about human organs, some of the comics in the above app do not consider mainstream values in some plot settings in order to attract attention. This app can not only be downloaded freely in the app store, but can also be purchased for 3 months for 30 yuan. There is no setting reminder for underage mode, and there is a trial function.
In the "Shy Comics" case, the popular comics and novels in the app also require payment for viewing, which contains a large amount of pornographic and obscene content. Register as a member, recharge and pay online, and with just a few simple steps, you can obtain obscene comic images. To attract minors, the recharge amount set on this website is not high, with a monthly subscription of around 60 yuan, and there is a trial function. As of now, more than 3 million paying members have been identified involved in this case, with minors accounting for 10% to 15% of the membership group, and the involved funds reaching up to 300 million yuan.
It is worth noting that many comic apps have virtually non-existent underage modes.
Recently, the reporter downloaded 10 popular manga apps in the market, some of which do not have a minors mode. Even if there is a manga app with minor mode set, it will automatically default to adult mode after logging in. If you want to enter the underage mode, you need the user to actively set it up, but there will be no ID login or facial recognition processes.
Promote through online traffic
Buying and selling resources through covert channels
How do minors obtain these bad comics?
Through a certain social app, the journalist contacted a blogger who, upon learning that the journalist wanted to obtain a certain pornographic comic resource, claimed to be "offering a small compensation.". After paying 6 yuan, the reporter obtained the online storage resources of the comic, and the blogger also reminded that "the online storage can be saved for permanent viewing, and chat records are deleted fragments.".
It is understood that in order to prevent large-scale images from being blocked by online storage, these bloggers will save screenshots of large-scale images and place them in their chat records.
The reporter opened the so-called deleted fragments in the chat records sent by the blogger mentioned above and saw the naked female lead and male lead hugging each other, and some fragments involved sexual abuse.
In addition, on e-commerce platforms, journalists search for "comics" as a keyword, resulting in a large number of merchants selling comic resources. The reporter consulted several merchants and found that many of the comic resources sold contain themes related to pornography and violence.
In the transaction, the reporter found that some merchants used covert methods to conduct transactions, including "Man Hua", "Kan Mu Lu", "Mi Fa Ferry Cloud Disk", and so on. Opening the comic catalog, the bloody, violent, and terrifying plot "hits you in the face"
The reporter added another merchant's social media account and asked if there were any color comics, saying "yes", "yes", "yes", "please tell me what you want to see", but did not ask about the reporter's age, etc.
The reporter randomly purchased a certain merchant's "free XX comic VIP software" on the e-commerce platform, and then the merchant sent a download link. The reporter used the built-in browser to open it and download the app.
By using this app, you only need to briefly listen to 30 seconds of advertisements to watch comics for free. Advertisements not only have inappropriate content, but also induce downloading of novel apps and short video apps. The interface is divided into sections such as Selected, Updated, New Works, Popular, Danmei, Korean Comics, Japanese Comics, etc. It also categorizes comics, ranks them based on popularity, sets a book list square for comics based on content, and recommends them daily according to reader preferences.
You only need to pay 3 yuan to purchase the above products, and the merchant will not inquire about the buyer's age. Minors can make purchases at will.
Some criminal gangs take advantage of the social characteristics of minors to attract and promote comics, games, novels, and other websites that minors often browse. By giving rewards, users are encouraged to share relevant links and continuously expand their user base. According to psychological counselors and school teachers interviewed, the tricks of malicious comic websites are not new, but minors are not yet mature in their minds, lack recognition ability, and have poor self-control, making them easy to get used to.
Complete the assessment to join the group
Get relevant resources for free
During the investigation, the reporter also found that many comics leave dedicated social group numbers and QR codes to remind readers that "adding groups has benefits.".
According to Zhang Wen, a senior manga enthusiast from Chaoyang District, Beijing, the reporter directly entered a certain website through search and clicked on the "Manga Recommendation" option. Soon after, some manga title page images containing revealing women and men without tops appeared.
Under the main manga, there will be dozens of comments such as "polite price inquiry" and "private chat", with over 200 highly popular comments. At the same time, under some larger scale comics, there are comments such as "want to see uncut items and add social groups".
"The comment section of these pornographic comics is filled with a large number of so-called free resource groups, such as' comics are called xxxx, resources are all free and unpaid, companies xxxx, recommenders xxxx '. Generally, there are more women in this type of group, most of whom are in middle or high school," Zhang Wen told reporters.
By answering the recommender's name and website name, the reporter joined a certain social group. After joining the group, they also need to answer multiple "professional assessment" questions. Only after answering correctly can they truly join the group and obtain relevant comic resources.
After passing the assessment, the reporter was asked to "change the vest" and comply with group rules such as prohibiting casual recruitment and building small groups outside. At the same time, it was also informed that new members can request resources for free for the first three days after joining the group, and after three days, they need to exchange their speech volume for resources. However, joining relevant departments allows for continuous free access to resources and gives priority to obtaining the latest resources.
After being assessed by the administrator, the reporter began to participate in the group work of reviewing the qualifications of new members, managing group chats and comic resources. The reporter learned that the group is mostly composed of middle and high school students, and many of the comic resources in the resource library are related to pornography and violence, which are exactly the resources that many minors request to obtain by name.
The reporter claimed to be a high school sophomore, and now their parents are not at home, secretly playing with their phones. Many members in the group immediately replied with their ages of "17", "15", "14", etc. During the two days when the journalist joined the group, dozens of new members were added. For example, on the first day of joining the group, a group member introduced me as a pure hearted little girl, and then a group member replied, "What kind of pure affection can those who join this group have?". They will discuss comic stories in QQ groups, share exam related information, and use language such as love affairs on campus or cursing classmates.
Search and identify bad comics
Once discovered, it will be immediately sealed off
According to the cases she has encountered, Chen Jing, who works as a psychological counselor for minors in Beijing, told reporters that most parents are very vigilant about their children's exposure to obscene videos. However, when it comes to children reading comics, some people may think it doesn't matter if they add some extra value.
In this regard, Professor Pi Yijun from China University of Political Science and Law and Director of the Center for Juvenile Crime and Juvenile Justice Research believes that pornographic comics can lure minors to pursue sexual relationships that do not match their age stage too early, which is not conducive to creating a healthy and healthy growth environment for minors.
In the view of Xi Peizhi, Deputy Secretary General of the Shanghai Association for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency, harmful comics may have multiple negative impacts on minors: the content of harmful comics may convey incorrect values, such as encouraging violence, discrimination, comparison, etc., leading to children forming incorrect moral concepts and values; Some negative content in comics may contain inappropriate behaviors, such as violence, bullying, and pornography, which can be easily imitated by minors, leading to their tendency to engage in negative behavior; Causing negative effects on emotions and psychology, such as violent or terrifying scenes, may trigger fear, anxiety, and emotional instability among minors.
Chen Jing believes that minors have rapid physical and physiological development. If they do not receive proper guidance in sex education, they often have to seek help from the internet and are easily tempted by harmful information. For adolescents, under the stimulation of soft pornographic information, they may experience impulses that directly affect their behavior.
"The producers and reviewers of comic content should play the role of 'gatekeepers'. In the process of creation and review, education on the ideological and moral aspects of young people should be given top priority to help them form correct values. Zheng Ning, the head of the Law Department of the School of Cultural Industry Management at Communication University of China, suggests improving reporting channels. If any violations are found, they should be reported immediately and once verified, they should be sealed off immediately.".
