China delays mandatory 'Green Dam' installation

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-06-30 21:03

BEIJING: China will delay the mandatory installation of the controversial "Green Dam-Youth Escort" filtering software on new computers, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said here Tuesday.

The pre-installation was postponed as some computer producers said such massive installation demanded extra time, said the ministry.

"The ministry would keep on soliciting opinions to perfect the pre-installation plan," a spokesman with MIIT said.

All computers produced or sold in China were scheduled to be installed with such software after July 1, according to MIIT's previous announcement.

The ministry would continue to provide a free download of the software and equip school and Internet bar computers with it after July 1, said the spokesman.

The software is designed to block violence and pornographic contents on the Internet to protect minors. It could also help parents control how much time their children spend online.

The pre-installation would not be compulsory, as the software could be easily switched off and uninstalled by computer users, and it would not collect the online activities of users or collect any information about users, the spokesman reaffirmed.

Accusations of the software's privacy invasion and blocking information flow, which had been raised by a few overseas media and institutions, is "groundless" and "irresponsible," he said.

Developers of the "Green Dam," greatly concerned over software security, had also modified the software as technical problems had been revealed during earlier promotion. They will continue to improve the software with services packs and upgrades, said the spokesman.

The spokesman also mentioned that the government procurement procedure of the software had complied with China's Government Procurement Law, which was open, fair, transparent, non-exclusive, and under strict supervision.

The procurement of such filtering software is "an act for public good", and is in line with regulations of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The ministry did not mention when the pre-installation requirement would resume its effect.