China Blacklists Video Sites

China shuttered 25 video-sharing websites today and warned numerous others, as authorities moved to enforce stricter controls on online content announced late last year, Reuters reports. Chinese video heavyweight Tudou.com was among those that received a warning to eliminate pornographic and political material. "We're working hard to upgrade our systems to catch everything that needs to be caught," said Tudou’s VP.

The government’s actions are troubling to venture capital firms that have sunk considerable sums into video sites in China and have been unable to gauge how much enforcement would result from Beijing’s content policies. Still, Tudou’s VP is optimistic about online video’s Chinese future: "This is just a reminder that everyone has to keep their content clean," he said. (More China stories.)