China is struggling to contain online piracy and needs tougher punishments, a senior official said this week. The number of cases dealt with last year was more than double the previous two years combined, and with technology developing rapidly, it was becoming harder to crack down, said Yan Xiaohong, deputy head of the National Copyright Administration.

“Although our rectification campaigns have had obvious initial results, we must clearly recognise that there has been no sea change for the better in our nation’s Internet copyright protection environment,” he told a news conference.

Fines and sentences meted out against offenders to date had perhaps not been strong enough, he said. “As the situation is so serious we ought to give out heavier fines under the legal framework,” Yan said.

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