"You've Been Harmonized"- China Demands New PCs Have Web Site-blocking Program

Almost the biggest Chinese news from yeasterday and today is the report that China will require that Web filtering software be included with all computers sold in the country after 1st July. According to The Wall Street Journal on Monday, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology sent computer makers a notice on May 19 that PCs to be sold in China as of July 1 must be preloaded with the software.
The program would either be installed on the hard drive or enclosed on a compact disc, the newspaper reported, adding that PC makers would be required to tell authorities how many PCs they have shipped with the software.

OBVIOUSLY it's another step up in Chinese government's efforts to control pornography, but more significantly to control other 'sensitive' content on the Internet. After the recent 'anti-porn' Internet campaign during which under the pretext of cracking down on porn China shut down numerous websites and blogs which of course have nothing to do with pornography, the CCP government takes the "harmonizing" one step further - a softwear. (See bellow the AP report about the possible uses of the softwear.)

While the manufactorer Jinhui Computer System Engineering claims that the purpose of the software (called Green Dam Youth Escort in Chinese) is to prevent children from surfing prornografic content, one very important and significant ability of the program is to be noted:
Jinhui's Web site says its program also prevents the use of proxy servers or circumvention software to visit banned sites, measures often used by savvy Internet users in China.

Now that is obviously meant to stop/'escort'/ PC users from surfing politically 'sensitive' sites, etc. The move obviously is meant to give the Chinese government even more control over what users are viewing on the Internet.

Acording to reports China has hundreds of millions of web users, a number that grows each day. Without control who knows what can happen.
No doubt vulgar, pornographic, lewd and obsene content is controlled in other countries too (and in my view it should be), BUT controlling political content and free expression is not OK.
In China pornographic content is called "yellow"黄色,in a perverse twist the Party equals dissent views to pornography.

But when the Party says 'harmony', it means it!

China requires PCs to come with anti-porn software (AP)
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090608/ap_on_hi_te/as_china_internet_12

....
Through such mechanisms as network-level filters installed at the nation's Internet service providers, the government routinely blocks political sites, especially ones it considers socially destabilizing such as sites that challenge the ruling Communist Party, promote democratic reform or advocate independence for Tibet.
....
John Palfrey, an Internet censorship expert at Harvard University, described the latest requirements as "a potential game changer in the story of Internet control," by moving China's "Great Firewall" closer to the user, where censorship can be more effective.

Although users can unblock sites or uninstall the software, many won't bother or know how, Palfrey said. There's also the possibility of the software leaving traces, he said, giving users a false sense of security if the software blocks or monitors usage anyhow — or giving users enough uncertainty that they'll practice self-censorship.

"One of the most effective parts of China's controls is self-censorship, the perception that you are being watched or blocked," Palfrey said in an interview from Washington, D.C.

And though the software isn't currently designed for monitoring usage, Palfrey said a future update could give it surveillance capabilities, something easier to implement once the basic software is already on PCs. (AP) !!!!!!!

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China Demands New PCs Have Web Site-blocking Program (PC World)
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld/20090608/tc_pcworld/chinademandsnewpcshavewebsiteblockingprogram_1