Videos of gynecologic check-ups are listed for sale on Alibaba platform

Findings from Chinese media draw social media outcry

Reading Time:2 minutes

Videos of gynecologic check-ups are listed for sale on Alibaba platform

Published: 7:27pm, 8 Mar 2019Updated: 8:58am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

China has some of the strictest rules about pornography in the world: everything from sexy banana eating to suggestive GIFs can be banned. However, this doesn't mean that erotic content isn’t available through grey channels. And even when it's not, certain people seem to be resorting to other ways of getting their kicks – some of which are extremely questionable.

This week, Chinese media have uncovered a network of sellers peddling videos of gynecological examinations on Alibaba’s second-hand goods platform Xianyu.

Xianyu is an app similar to Letgo or Carousell used mostly to buy second-hand electronics or get rid of old stuff from the garage. Instead, these rogue sellers were offering videos of gynecological examinations which were apparently used for teaching medical students, according to a report from The Beijing News.

(Abacus is a unit of the South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba.)

The videos were advertised as 18+ content and sold for as little as US$1.50. Sometimes the files included real pornographic clips, according to the report.

"Xianyu prohibits illicit and illegal behavior by third-party sellers on its platform," a Xianyu spokesperson told us. "The third-party product listings identified violate our listing policy and have been removed. We will continue to monitor the platform and take action against sellers in violation of our product-listing policy."

Screenshots from Xianyu app show that the sellers were still peddling videos of gynecological examinations on March 8, one day after the original media report was published. (Picture: Screenshot from Xianyu)