China has delayed indefinitely a much-criticised plan to force manufacturers to bundle Internet filtering software with personal computers sold in the country, in an abrupt retreat hours before the policy was due to start.
The climbdown was reported late on Tuesday by the official Xinhua news agency, which said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology would “delay the mandatory installation of the controversial ‘Green Dam-Youth Escort’ filtering software on new computers.”
The “Green Dam” plan, which officials said was to stamp out Internet pornography banned in China, was to start on Wednesday, but had been assailed by critics of censorship, industry groups and Washington officials as politically intrusive, technically ineffective and commercially unfair. [ID:nSP491468]
No new date was given and the plan may drift into oblivion.
July 1st, 2009 at 5:25 am
wanna know why they cant block just some of the net? its all or nothing and it would bring their house of cards system to a screeching halt
July 1st, 2009 at 7:36 am
No it won’t drift into oblivion. It will migrate over to the U.S. to “protect children” here.
July 1st, 2009 at 11:01 am
Steve Quayle and Russ Dizdar are mistaken. Click Max’s name.
July 1st, 2009 at 11:01 pm
No way, the communist party backed down. Wow. This makes the Western (free?) nations look bad. Are roles reversing? and did someone forget to inform the general public.
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:18 am
Report in the Daily Mail this morning says that they are going ahed with it.
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:19 am
Sorry it was the Guardin not the mail
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worl.....-green-dam