Websites suspended for multiple violations

The websites of Visual China Group and IC Photo, which provide visual content, were required to suspend services for rectification on Dec 10 due to multiple violations.

The websites were engaged in internet news information services without obtaining authorized licenses, according to the Cyberspace Administration of China. They also carried out cooperation involving internet news and information services with overseas enterprises without security assessment.

Earlier, Visual China was caught falsely claiming it held a copyright to the black hole pictures. Moreover, the company was questioned about whether it had the right to sell images of the national flag and national emblem on its website.

Visual China temporarily shut down its website on April 11. On April 18, the company was fined 300,000 yuan for lax supervision of content users uploaded onto the platform.