Chinese police uncover massive underground business specialising in deleting unfavourable online posts
Businesses and corruption suspects pay millions to erase their tracks from cyberspace
Police in Hubei have uncovered the biggest case in China so far involving paid services for the removal of unfavourable online posts.
The operation was worth an estimated 50 million yuan (HK$63 million) and involved about 2,000 people in 22 provinces and municipalities, state media reported.
Such operations are not uncommon in the mainland. In December, 2013, police shut down six “public relations” firms who charged their clients to have posts removed. The companies had bribed website editors technicians, through agents, to delete the posts. The companies charged clients hundreds of thousands of yuan to delete the posts, and paid agents between 200-1,000 per deleted post.
In the latest case in Hubei, police found that negative information about officials, large corporations and listed companies, and celebrities are the major clients of the business in Quichun county, part of an industry that one suspect claimed made an annual profit of 100 million yuan nationwide and had created tens of thousands of jobs.
In a detailed report issued on Wednesday, Xinhua revealed that college students, teachers, online editors, civil servants and police officers were paid to delete posts.
Police detained 10 main suspects and were pursuing five others after receiving a tip-off from a member of the public in November.
A 26-year-old man, identified by his surname Yu, allegedly headed the group. It is believed he made more than 7.8 million yuan since 2011.