Porn Sites Evolve, Lure Users with Previews

Operators of a webhard company that lured people in with ‘previews’ and distributed millions of obscene materials have been apprehended by law enforcement agents. (Image : Yonhap)

Seoul, July 27 (Korea Bizwire) – Operators of a webhard company that lured people in with ‘previews’ and distributed millions of obscene materials have been apprehended by law enforcement agents.

Guro Police Station announced that four people, including an individual referred to as ‘Choi’ (31), who ran an internet porn sharing site called ‘S webhard’, and five other heavy uploaders, were indicted without detention for distribution of pornography.

‘Heavy uploaders’ are those who profit from uploading large quantities of illegally produced material online.

According to law enforcement officials, the perpetrators had uploaded 340,000 porn files to four file sharing websites including S webhard from November 2013 until last month, raking in profits of 240,000,000won.

The investigation showed that ‘S webhard’ provided ‘previews’ to lure users and gain distinctiveness. Through the one-minute long preview, users were able to get information about the story and quality of the porn, so they didn’t have to waste their ‘download points’ on unwanted porn.

When a user downloaded porn using the ‘points’ they had purchased, the company and heavy uploaders shared the profits three to one.

The four file sharing companies, including S webhard, required adult authentication only once when users first signed in, allowing under-aged teenagers to download pornography using other individuals’ IDs and passwords.

Law enforcement officials are determined to arrest those associated with the uploading and distribution of pornography. “The managers of S webhard used previews to attract users, when they should have strengthened surveillance. We plan to strengthen measures, and we will enlarge our investigation to distributors of child and teenage pornography as well.”

By M.H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)