Green Dam launch 'not handled well'

A senior government official admitted yesterday that the implementation of the Green Dam online pornographic filter was "not thoughtful enough".

The government had demanded in May, through a directive issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), that all PC manufacturers ensure the Green Dam filtering software was included with all PCs sold in China by July 1.

The software was intended to offer PC owners the opportunity to screen Internet sites featuring pornography and violence. It was intended to protect minors from such content and need not have been used by other users.