China Asked To Drop Web Filter Demand

Manufacturers Required To Pre-Install Filtering Software On PCs Sold In China; Analysts Fear Political Censorship

(AP)  Global business groups have made an unusual direct appeal to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to scrap an order for PC makers to supply controversial Internet filtering software, citing security and privacy concerns.

Just days before the deadline to comply with China's order, the letter from 22 chambers of commerce and trade groups representing the world's major technology suppliers adds to pressure on Beijing to halt the plan following an official protest by Washington.

The order requires manufacturers to pre-install or supply "Green Dam Youth Escort" software with PCs made for sale in China beginning Wednesday.

"The Green Dam mandate raises significant questions of security, privacy, system reliability, the free flow of information and user choice," said the letter dated Friday, a copy of which was provided to The Associated Press. It appealed to Wen to "reconsider implementing the Green Dam requirements."

Such a direct appeal to Chinese leaders is highly unusual. Companies usually avoid commenting publicly on government policy for fear of retaliation.

The letter was signed by leaders of the American, European and Japanese chambers of commerce in China, the U.S. National Association of Manufacturers and trade groups representing the world's major technology suppliers.

The filtering plan "seems to run counter to China's important goal of becoming a vibrant and dynamic information-based society," the letter said.

Chinese authorities say the "Green Dam" system is needed to block access to violent and obscene material. But analysts who have reviewed the program say it also contains code to filter out material the government considers politically objectionable.

The system also has been criticized by free-speech advocates and some of China's 298 million Internet users.

PC makers received the order in May, giving them little time to test the software and work out how to comply. Manufacturers say they still are trying to obtain details of the plan.

Top U.S. trade officials have called on Beijing to revoke the order requiring the filtering software, calling it a "serious barrier to trade" and citing security concerns. They said Beijing might have violated its World Trade Organization commitments by failing to give companies adequate advance notice and time to comment.

The conflict reflects the clash between the authoritarian government's efforts to control information and China's high-tech ambitions. China has assembled the world's most extensive system of Internet monitoring and filtering, but the new software system would take the controls to a new level, placing monitoring technology inside the individual's computer.

China is important to PC makers such as Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Inc. and Taiwan's Acer Inc. both as a major manufacturing site and a fast-growing market. It accounts for up to 80 percent of world production and sales.

The Green Dam plan has raised questions about whether the software, produced by a Chinese company, might cause technical problems, and how customers abroad will react to companies cooperating with Beijing's censorship.

Researchers at the University of Michigan who studied Green Dam say they found "serious security vulnerabilities due to programming errors" that could allow any Web site a user visits to take control of a PC.

A California company, Solid Oak Software of Santa Barbara, says parts of its own filtering software were used in Green Dam, raising questions about possible violations of intellectual property rights.

The Chinese manufacturer of the software has even received death threats. Workers at Jinhui Computer System Engineering Co. have received more than 1,000 harassing phone calls this month, Zhang Chenmin, the general manager of the company, told the official Xinhua News Agency. Zhang was quoted Wednesday as saying one caller had even threatened to kill his wife and child.

[bptdude]

This is an example of what pisses Chinese people off.

Every major company here is USA has Internet filtering installed.

Most home security software has parental control options.

Almost everybody who is complaining about China, lives here in an environment that has web filtering or the option to use it.

Chinese people read all this protest and just figure we hate them.

[elpaulito]

China will get what it wants. We are in debt to them for trillions. What are we supposed to say to them? 8 years of Bush supporting a communist country by financially floating our military spending by taking loan after loan, while here, he vetoed a bill that would give healthcare to low income children because that would be too socialist. Go figure.

[prometheus21]

The order requires manufacturers to pre-install or supply "Green Dam Youth Escort" software with PCs made for sale in China beginning Wednesday.

You have to ask yourself just how much propaganda is shoved in your face every freaking day in "free press", free-information America -- and of course be aware of what the U.S. government is able to do, what popular search engines like Google and much pre-installed software of American computers can and will do -- then observe a Chinese government mandate that gives manufacturers the option of pre-installing this on computers or supplying it on disk and wonder why the American press isn't more concerned with your freedom, instead of your indoctrination, than China's.

[John_Merritt]

I can see where those computers that might be exported to the US might have some bearing on China responding positively to US. However, they will probably reject wholly any 'commands or requests' pertinent to their own country and territory. Why you ask? If they have filters in place, that means they have the know how and technology to enable, disable and change at will. Smart move on their part. Besides they want capitalism in their society, sans the domestic moral corruption of their people that we have via pornoraphy and other distasteful things in their eyes. Only a guess, may be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.

[voxpopulus]

Incidentally, if you did a little research, you'd have at least mentioned there is now a software program called Green Tsunami that counteracts Green Dam.

[voxpopulus]

I wish the media would get this right. It is NOT internet filtering software. It is censorware and surveillance ware. You cannot even type certain words into your computer. It goes well beyond web filtering.

[jaykay3141]

The computer manufacturers' behavior reminds me of the way some U.S. companies set up committees during WWII to figure out how they could sell to the Nazis. Obscene!

[skyk-2009]

China has to decide if it wants to be part of the world or not. They can't expect to become part of the Market without the Market of Idea's being involved.

[flajoe1]

Why should China join the rest of the world when all it needs to do is sit back and relax while we hand it to them...........??

[docpeter1953]

Since when is it your or my business whether or not China wants to install spyware on computers sold in China? If the chinese people don't want it then they should complain.

[whitemale08]

Comments like yours shows utterly stupid we've become as a society.

We've come to the point where we are defending global monopolies like Microsoft to dictate terms to a sovereign nation like China.

The issue is not: "China must conform to global company standards for political sabatoge and de-stabilization".

The issue is: "Microsoft and these global monopolies should not be that big in the first place to dictate anything to a sovereign peoples".

This is why we are being ruled by banksters and driven to serfdom through the bailouts of absolutely demonic, evil, crooked swindlers like Goldman Sucks and JP Morgan.

You want to talk about 'freedom' start right here with 'freeing us' from Goldman Sucks and JP Morgoan.

[flajoe1]

China will say no and the computer makers will install the software because there's money to be made.

The heck with human rights and freedoms when there's money to be made!!!!!

[govwatch2]

How long does it take for politicians to learn that they are the lowest on the intelligence scale. for example "Al Gore invented the internet". Installing filters is like putting a locking code on DVDs. It only took a 16 year old to crack it. It should take about one week for hackers to disable the filters. Go ahead China politicians show us how smart you are?

[skyk-2009]

I've often wondered why ditto heads continue, YEARS after they've been shown to be LIES, to repeat the same tired old lines. Good grief people! IF you can't operate a search engine and READ for yourself, understanding what you have read, get some kid in elementary school to HELP you. Honest you people are very embarrassing! The winner of the Nobel Prize did NOT say he invented the Internet. Geezzzz Grow up already!

[govwatch2]

How long does it take for politicians to learn that they are the lowest on the intelligence scale. for example "Al Gore invented the internet". Installing filters is like putting a locking code on DVDs. It only took a 16 year old to crack it. It should take about one week for hackers to disable the filters. Go ahead China politicians show us how smart you are?

[Newster1]

by mcintoshlou
IT WAS JUST a week ago that Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) was in the spotlight for his admission of marital infidelity. Now comes fellow Republican and would-be presidential hopeful Mark Sanford's clumsy admission of adultery"

And WHAT does that have to do with China's demand for filtering software??
Who CARES what they did with regards to "adultry", they did what 50% of men DO every week, it's NON-news!

"global business groups have made an unusual direct appeal to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to scrap an order for PC makers to supply controversial Internet filtering software, citing security and privacy concerns. "

Appeal? US businesses are APPEALING to China? I say to hel1 with *****-land they can stuff their computers up the wazoo if they dont like the internet contents. We should not have to worry about what THEY want, or worry about privacy and security of THEIR citizens!
Tell em to take a flying leap.

[mcintoshlou]

IT WAS JUST a week ago that Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) was in the spotlight for his admission of marital infidelity. Now comes fellow Republican and would-be presidential hopeful Mark Sanford's clumsy admission of adultery, and Mr. Ensign is, so political pundits judge, yesterday's news. That's too bad, because there is still a lot about Mr. Ensign's affair that the public has a right to know.

Interest in Mr. Ensign -- and we make no secret that ours is influenced in part by his despicable role in undermining D.C. voting rights -- is by no means absolution of Mr. Sanford. The latter abrogated his responsibilities as South Carolina governor and misled his staff and the public. Mr. Sanford's infidelity should be a private matter between him and his wife, but his embarrassing confessional raised inevitable calls for his resignation. His announcement yesterday that he would reimburse the state for portions of a 2008 trade mission that included meeting with his Argentine mistress raises more questions about his conduct.

[John_Merritt]

Hey Nimrod, just what is it with you and your inability to read articles and report your personal opinions about the articles within. You use every opportunity to voice your opinion on anything and everything that you deem, whenever you want and whereever you want. What does Ensign and Sanford have to do with China filtering of techno devices. Take your game where it belongs, on those stories that actually represent your verbage. Signed: take it with the spirit that it is intended.