It’s a job that might seem like every teenage boy’s dream: a porn inspector. But the position is a real job in China, where censorship is a full-blown industry and porn is controlled at the highest levels.
Government agencies, like the police, and private internet companies are hiring for the jobs, and pay up to US$32,000 a year. The workers are tasked with viewing porn all day long and putting the content into categories. One job opening recently attracted 50,000 applicants.
If this sounds appealing, though, porn inspectors point out it’s actually hard work. Wang Shuwei, from Henan, says that the job is not as easy as people think because successful applicants need to be familiar with the rating system, the handling of pornographic material, and be willing to do this all day long. According to job postings, it also requires that applicants be married, principled, “mentally healthy”, and available 24-hours a day on call (in case there’s some breaking porn that needs urgent attention, one imagines).
Not surprisingly, the job of “porn inspector” is almost entirely unique to China.