Three government agencies in Hebei province have teamed up to clean up the Internet.

The public security department, cultural department and communication bureau launched a joint campaign against illegal websites and online rumors on July 15 through the end of the year.

“We have made some progress in past years in controlling harmful online material, such as pornography, violence and firearms,” said Zhang Wenge, leader of the Internet security team under the public security department.

About 52,000 pieces of information have been removed from the Internet since 2011, as well as 97 websites and 188 columns, Zhang said.