This article discusses China's newest attempt to censor the Internet. They are now requiring that a filtering software called Green Dam be installed on any new PC sold in the country starting July 1 (schools also had to install the software). Supposedly, the software is designed to filter pornographic sites and allows the government to update the software with a list of banned websites. Many worry that the government will use the software to block any sites they deem unfit, to monitor Internet use, and to collect personal information. The general manager of the company that designed the software says censorship worries are not needed and that parents can simply turn off the software. Many are skeptical.
PC makers that are affected by this (Dell, Lenovo, and HP) are not commenting, but are said to be unhappy about aiding censorship and the lack of warning, time, and consultation they received from the Chinese government. Early reports by users who have installed the software have said it made their computers slow, still allowed pornography to come through, and made browsing the Internet more difficult.
This seems to me to be a not-so-subtle way to make computer makers part of a broad Internet censorship attempt in China. I truly don't think the government will use it to simply filter pornographic sites but will instead use it to censor a host of sites. It is frustrating to read things like this, but it is important to be globally aware. I don't know what the answer is in China... I almost hope there is a movement like in Little Brother where people are not yielding to these crazy rulers.
Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/world/asia/09china.html
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I talked a little bit about this on my blog last week. Afterward I got to wondering, will the software be remotely accessible by the government? If not, then how can they truly filter the individuals computer. At the same time, if it is remotely accessible, would the government be able to know who had disabled the software? In a country where people have been removed from their homes for voicing/writing opinions that differ from the governments, would the people even think of defying them and disabling the censorship software?
ReplyDeleteWhat I wonder is how much of this information are the Chinese people aware of? Are their news channels discussing the filtering? And how are they describing it--as a mere filter or something more invasive? If I lived in China and was aware of these new filters, I would pray that my old filter-free computer lasted as long as possible!
ReplyDeleteThe article mentions the sites targeted for filtering are pornography and "unhealthy sites." So, the word "unhealthy" indicated that basically means the government will filter whatever it wants. The article also mentions that the government has already increased internet restrictions by blocking bulletin boards and blogs, and it employs 30,000 censors who make favorable posts about the Communist party. It seems like installing these filters is an inevitable step, since China has already done so much to restrict internet use. It's a wonder they even allow internet use, when they make so much effort restricting it. And even though American computer companies are not happy with the restrictions, they will probably just comply so that they don't lose the China market.
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