China's Internet regulator announced Sunday that it supports the lawful investigation and trial of a Shenzhen-based video-sharing company charged with spreading pornography for profit.

It was the first government response after executives of Shenzhen QVOD Technology seemingly won popular support for their defense during the trial's live broadcast last week that emphasized technology neutrality online. But analysts said it will be up to the court to decide whether they have broken the law.

"We resolutely support the investigation of QVOD Technology, which is accused of spreading pornography," Jiang Jun, spokesman of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), said in a statement.

"All websites which provide services based on Internet technology should take legal responsibility for the content they spread," said Jiang.

The court in Beijing's Haidian district on Thursday began hearing arguments for and against four executives of QVOD Technology, whose video-sharing platform kuaibo, which literally means "fast play," boasted 300 million users before it was shut down in April 2014.

Prosecutors said that 70 percent of 29,841 videos stored on its servers were allegedly found to contain pornographic material. However, the company executives denied the accusations, saying that the company was only engaged in developing the technology and had no role in spreading pornography.

Over 1 million people reportedly watched the trial online. The defense won public support for their eloquence. However, some analysts said that technology neutrality should not be an excuse to cover their legal liability and every Internet subject should be responsible for a healthy Internet environment. 

Strong defense

During the two-day trial, prosecutors recommended that the court sentence Wang Xin, chief executive officer of QVOD Technology, to at least 10 years in jail. The court was still deliberating as of press time.

Prosecutors claimed that the company used the video site to profit from the sharing of pornographic material using their software.

However, the defense argued that their servers can only store users' data in fragments, that they did not know what users would play with their software.

Their lawyers claimed that people cannot say QVOD spread pornography just because the software can play pornography. "[It is like] we cannot say the company which sells knives is guilty because someone used a knife to kill people," said a lawyer.

Although Wang admitted that he knew some users had used the player to watch porn, he said there was no way to identify illegal videos in advance given the capabilities of current technology.

The lawyers also listed many other media players which provide similar services and accused authorities of not shutting down companies such as Baidu and Tencent, whose software was also used to spread pornography.

"If the technology has loopholes that the government considers in violation of Internet regulations, the country should come up with a standard to regulate it. Without a ban, he [Wang] can do it," Zhao Zhijun, one of the defense lawyers, told the Nandu Daily Sunday.

The arguments won over many Net users, with some calling for "technology is innocent." The State-run Xinhua News Agency also released a commentary on Saturday, saying that both sides should be respected for their right to argue the case.

Tech neutrality divide

However, another commentary published by the People's Daily claimed eloquence has nothing to do with the law. Their defense did not deserve praise, it said.

Wang Sixin, a law professor at the Communication University of China, told the Global Times that the crux of this case lies in whether the company performed its duty in stopping the spread of pornography and whether their management was effective.

A judicial interpretation released in 2004 by the People's Supreme Court said those who already know but still profit from providing server hosting and transmission channels for people to spread pornographic material should be held accountable.

"The company largely thrived from its technology that allowed users to watch pornographic material. The company should be held liable as it abused the technology and failed to effectively reduce the spread of pornography," said Li Yuxiao, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Cyberspace.

Li said that the fierce debate shows the diversity in people's attitudes toward Internet activities and their recognition of technology neutrality.

"The open trial reflects progress of China's course of the rule of law. It should be supported as it is a chance to strengthen legal education among the public," said Li.

Authorities received more than 1 million tip-offs about illegal online information in 2015, of which 65 percent were about pornographic or obscene content, Jiang said.