As from 1st July this year the Chinese government has insisted that all new computers sold in the country come with software that will block certain internet sites that are objectionable including pornography sites.
The Chinese haven’t yet come out and said this publicly but they have already been in touch with computer manufacturers about their plans.
The software will be developed by two companies, Jinhui Computer System Engineering and Beijing Dazheng Human Language Technology Academy and will be free for at least a year.
Apparently Jinhui computer System Engineering Company’s “Green Dam Youth Escort” software can filter out “unhealthy words and images”.
The idea is that by blocking certain sites the Chinese believe they will protect the healthy growth of young people as well as encourage healthy development of the Internet and help to combat crime.
“Summer vacation is coming up, and many Chinese parents worry about what their children will see on the Internet. That’s the purpose of the software,” Jinhui founder Bryan Zhang said.
Manufacturers are now concerned that if they don’t comply with the new rule they will lose business and if they do that the software might be used for something other than blocking websites, for example, to track what users are doing on the net and at the same time leave them at greater risk of hacking attacks.
“We are studying the new rule to assess its impact, Susan Stevenson, spokesman for the US embassy in Beijing, told the Wall Street Journal.
A spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Beijing said “We would view any attempt to restrict the free flow of information with great concern and as incompatible with China’s aspirations to build a modern, information-based economy and society”.
All computer makers will be required to report on the number of computers and software packages sold on a month to month basis until next February after which they will be required to submit reports yearly.
Will it work? Who knows! Users can quite easily take the software out if they want to and anyone who knows what they are doing can bypass all the restrictions anyway and are able to access sites outside China. However, this latest move makes it clear that the Chinese are still keen to censor any material they believe will be harmful to their citizens.
Only recently China blocked online content that referred to the twentieth anniversary of the Tianamanen Square Riots.
So it’s business as usual then!
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