Porn for profit common in smartphone apps   

手机软件色情换利润盛行 碎一地节操引系列犯罪

随着智能手机的普及，包括手机游戏在内的第三方应用程序(又称APP)市场也越来越火爆，APP俨然成为当前信息产业链条中最为热门的领域。然而，《法制日报》记者采访了解到，在激烈的APP市场竞争中，色情营销竟成为一项被广泛采用的策略。[查看全文]

(ECNS) – As the app market surges with the popularization of smartphones, the marketing of porn content has been widely adopted by numerous app developers eyeing profits in a competitive market, the Legal Daily reported.

Cao Yu, an app investor in Beijing, said porn is one of the most eye-catching elements in the industry and can draw large amounts of traffic by attracting clicks, which the apps profit from.

An unnamed Internet analyst has said that porn apps are searched and downloaded frequently. Most smartphone users in their early 20s have downloaded at least three porn apps to their phones, he said.

"App developers can apply for pornographic material if they want to profit from the industry," he added.

Porn is common in SNS apps as well, according to Cao. "Some SNS apps are in fact platforms that provide erotic services," he said.

An investor who declined to be named said many apps have inserted social functions that convey sexually suggestive information.

A developer of a class schedule app said that one of the app's functions is to help users hook up with girls, Cao revealed.

Zhao Zhanling, an intellectual property researcher at China University of Political Science and Law, said apps abusing porn content can be penalized according to laws and regulations, but whether laws are being broken is often hard to clearly define.

Cao also said it's hard to totally ban porn content from apps. But he believed those using porn as advertising would finally be eliminated from the market.