It is reported that the board of jurists has received many responses since they opened up to applications. At present, the jury has registered 50 members and 200 other ratified people as backup volunteers. A swelling pool of mothers is waiting in the wings to join the hunting move.

Censoring Criteria

Huang Lu, a teacher at a Beijing middle school, has a daughter in grade two. As she remarks, "Today children are exposed to Internet at a very early age. They take computer courses as soon as they enter primary school, and many have to do assignments on the screen. The necessity of using the computer makes parents like me anxious and fearful. Every time my daughter surfs the web, I find myself standing to one side and surreptitiously having a look. I worry about her stumbling onto some nasty site by accident."

Huang Lu gives her role on the Mom Jury campaign 100 percent of her attention, and she is also planning to apply for a permanent seat. "This is an excellent program that may purify the Internet for our children without invading their privacy. I believe that mothers like me all fret over children's safety."

The reason for initiating a Mom Jury and not a Dad Jury, according to Zong Chunshan, is that Moms are more perceptive and sensitive. "It doesn't mean Dads can't join in or must have nothing to do with Internet security though; the fight against Internet and cell phone pornography calls for a joint effort of both parents."

At present, the jury carry out their censoring job on the basis of a 2009 government document specifying 13 standards for Lewd Internet Information. Offensive sites include those with photos and texts about human sexual organs, heavy petting and intercourse, indecent cartoons or comic strips, spiteful uploads violating people's privacy and so on. To facilitate communication and collaboration between mom jurors, relevant authorities are designing an online forum for them, which will expedite exchanges within the group and with government departments.

Backlash

Like many kids of his age, 15 year-old Xu Zhiyong has a penchant for online games. In the spell of a vacation, he spends over 4 hours a day surfing the net. Asked of the idea of moms playing guardian angles in the virtual world, he sneered: "Our moms were all born in the 1960s or 1970s. The generation gap means we hold different opinions on many topics. Take online games for example, most parents are prejudiced against them – they have a jaundiced view because they hear of improper and violent scenes. In fact, they have no idea of gaming and no willingness to look into it either."