China Demands All New PCs Include Censorship Software
China Demands All New PCs Include Censorship Software
Posted 06/09/2009 at 3:30pm
| by Mark Edward Soper
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The Chinese government takes the threat of unfettered Internet access seriously. China's "Great Firewall" blocked access to reports about the 20th anniversary of the 1989 Tianamen Square massacre last week. Although some users bypassed the blocks by using proxy servers, China's upped the ante: The Australian reports that China is requiring that all new PCs sold in China starting July 1st must include website blocking software developed in China.
The software's Chinese name is "Green Dam-Youth Escort". The word "green" in Chinese is used to describe web-surfing free from pornography and other illicit content.
The software was developed by Jinhui Computer System Engineering, with input from Beijing Dazheng Human Language Technology Academy. Both companies have ties to China's military and its security ministry. Jinhui says Green Dam operates similarly to software in other countries designed to let parents block access to web content inappropriate for children.
Foreign industry officials who have examined Green Dam say that personal information could be transmitted through the software and that it will be difficult for users to tell what exactly is being blocked.
Green Dam-Youth Escort can be preinstalled on systems sold in China, or be bundled with systems sold there. Although the developer states that the software contains a password-based parental bypass feature and can be uninstalled, one wonders if China will allow web access if the software is not active. Will the biggest PC vendors in the Chinese market (second only to the US market in sales last year) push back against this requirement, or will July 1st see the "Great Firewall" become even harder to crack? Hit Comment to post your feedback.
Image adapted from Wikimedia Commons image.
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HaylieIdida
April 26, 2011 at 11:30am
I don't think that the so-called Green Dam-Youth Escort software was created to protect the young Chinese, if we consider the foreign industry officials' opinion than personal information could arrive anytime in the hand of central security structures. I wonder if a regcure program won't be able to remove the tracks of this app, which seems a very bad idea, because this isn't the first time when it happens.
eitolafatee
June 18, 2009 at 8:06am
I heard that this program was super easy to circumvent. From what I heard, all you have to do is reinstall an operating system that doesn't have the program. And just how the hell do they intend to supervise this? How will they check all computers in china?
DrMD
June 10, 2009 at 8:35am
Didn't China pretty much do the same thing during the Olympics, their leaders have a serious fear of losing control of their better than the average citizen's lifestyle and nothing is blocked on the leaders PCs, why would it be?
jtrpop
June 10, 2009 at 7:28am
Lets hope all computers being imported from China don't have this. This is just wrong. Any manufacturer that supports this is supporting communism.
Seana7a7
June 10, 2009 at 12:58am
There's only three real sports Football, Baseball and KILLING COMMUNISTS.
DravenX
June 09, 2009 at 11:13pm
What the hell happened to this thing called "freedom." The world leaders believe that they should block every little thing. What kind of life are we leaving for the next generations to come?
nebulaz
June 09, 2009 at 9:55pm
Children? China already took care of them, now only the kittens are left.
nekollx
June 10, 2009 at 8:25am
Hello Kitta, aww isn't she cute...
------------------------------
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Cache
June 09, 2009 at 3:58pm
How long until Germany institutes the same thing so they can block violent web games that might otherwise incite unholy violence unknown since the time of Otto the Great?
Why won't anyone think of the children??
nekollx
June 09, 2009 at 3:57pm
Welcome to the World Wide Comu-net
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Coming soon to Lulu.com --Tokusatsu Heroes--
Five teenagers, one alien ghost, a robot, and the fate of the world.
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