Green Dam live date 'unchanged'

By Cui Jia (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-06-22 22:55

China will not back away from its July 1 launch date for the controversial anti-pornography computer filter Green Dam Youth Escort, a Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) source said.

The assertion followed criticism from the US embassy in Beijing about the software's potential impact on trade and about technical issues that called into question the program's efficacy.

The Chinese government is calling for Green Dam software, which limits access to violent and pornographic websites, to be included with all computers sold on the Chinese mainland starting July 1.

"The US government is concerned about Green Dam, both in terms of its potential impact on trade and the serious technical issues raised by use of the software," a US embassy spokesperson said yesterday.

Representatives from the US embassy, the MIIT and the Ministry of Commerce held a meeting on the subject on Friday but details of the discussion are unknown.

The US embassy spokesperson said the US government also viewed with concern any attempt to restrict the free flow of information. Such steps were incompatible with China's aspirations to build a modern, information-based economy and society, the spokesperson said.

The MIIT could not be reached for comments on the remarks today, other than to confirm the deadline still applied.