Company investigated for producing sexualized cartoons

Guangdong's Provincial authorities are investigating a Guangzhou-based video production company which is accused of using iconic cartoon figures, such as Peppa Pig, Elsa and SpongeBob in sexual or violent scenarios, and then uploading them to domestic video websites.

Poster of American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants [File Photo: VCG]

Guangzhou Yinjun Trading Co. Ltd. has been asked by local authorities to remove those harmful videos from all websites. Two production facilities belonging to the company have been closed down.

The National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications has launched a nationwide campaign to crack down on the sexual or violent videos, and has ordered video sites to clean up the offending cartoons. Chinese search engines have been also requested to block related keywords.

In addition, the Guangzhou company has published a statement on its Sina Weibo account Monday evening, saying it apologizes for the harmful videos, and is asking for forgiveness from parents.