Man Fined For Having Internet Porn

A Chinese man is facing criminal charges over having porn on his personal computer. The man says the Nanyang City Public Security Bureau Internet Squad showed up at his property just days after he was married. They searched his PC, found a 30-minute adult video — then confiscated the computer and fined him $277.

The officers, he says, told him they believed someone was using his IP address “to distribute harmful information.” He says when they took the computer, they claimed it was because of “suspicion of downloading pornographic material.” He was later told the fine was a result of the “computer network and Internet safety protection administrative regulations.”

The case gets fairly convoluted, but long story short, officers eventually indicated that the charges had to do with the fact that the clip was downloaded via BitTorrent. That, they suggested, could “provide seeds for others to download” the material in question.

The whole thing has stirred up a media storm in the region — and, according to news reports, has turned the guy into somewhat of an Internet star. Following the online outcry, police ended up cancelling the fine. They maintained, however, that a law had been broken, and said they would “impart a punishment of criticism and education.”

In response to that, the man told local reporters the following:

“There really wasn’t any criticism. Mostly it was that I should try not to watch so much porn in the future.”

Uh, right. Lesson learned?