PC Companies Ask China to Ditch Filter

By Jane McEntegart
published

Computer companies are this week pleading with China to backtrack on its decision to mandate web filtering software.

The Wall Street Journal today reports seeing a letter signed by nineteen organizations and sent to China’s Minister of Industry Information and Technology. The companies who signed off on the letter say that the plan to have web filtering software installed on every computer sold in mainland China raises “significant questions of security privacy, system reliability, the free flow of information and user choice,” and urged the Chinese government to reconsider implementing the requirement.

The news comes following several recent developments. The Chinese government announced early this week that the software was not compulsory but would still ship with every computer sold. In other words, just because it’s on your computer when you get it, doesn’t mean you have to keep it the software.

Around the same time that China announced that no one would be forced to use Green Dam, a Santa Barbara-based company called Solid Oak alleged that parts of the software contained coding taken directly from Solid Oak’s own filtering software, Cybersitter, which is aimed at parents. Solid Oak has reportedly sent cease and desist orders to HP and Dell, blocking the two from shipping PCs with the software pre-installed.

Jane McEntegart
13 Comments Comment from the forums
  • erigolhuhu
    For 3 days every single article from Tom's has 90% of comments about it's bad quality and almost nothing about the information itself ...

    Reply
  • sailfish
    The real story here is that the weenie companies who signed off on the censorship in the first place are now trying to weasel their way out of their own culpability in agreeing to install it in the first place, meh!
    Reply
  • erigolhuhu
    marcus_brSurprisingly you haven't ended this article with "what you think? let us know", which may explain why i'm the first poster.
    Isn't this a complain?
    Reply
  • erigolhuhu
    Oh ... sorry haha

    Reply
  • hikayu
    ha ! like a letter going to work . unless you're living under a rock ( it might means literally in china ) , you should already know that china doesnt give a crap about privacy , human's right , mrality or anything that doesnt involving with money . all they care is their money and their long-lasting "legacy" .tell me , since when did the chinese get an update version on history book . as im sure , 99% of all facts in the history book on anything after 1900 has been bended to fit their way of reigning over the country .
    Reply
  • WyomingKnott
    Umm, what China is trying to avoid is "the free flow of information and user choice."
    Reply
  • annymmo
    The companies who signed off on the letter say that the plan to have web filtering software installed on every computer sold in mainland China raises “significant questions of security privacy, system reliability, the free flow of information and user choice,” and urged the Chinese government to reconsider implementing the requirement.

    You think the Chinese government will stop for this?
    They imprison people of their own country for asking this kind of stuff,
    don't think they give a damn for privacy and stuff.
    The government wants to control and stop the free flow of information,
    especially political issues like Tibet.

    That's where most of the files about green dam go over by the way,
    not the boehoehoe-we-pretend-to-care-about-porn-and-try-to-protect-you excuse. It's a pathetic excuse and no one should believe that.
    Reply
  • -unknown-
    annymmoYou think the Chinese government will stop for this? They imprison people of their own country for asking this kind of stuff, don't think they give a damn for privacy and stuff. The government wants to control and stop the free flow of information, especially political issues like Tibet. That's where most of the files about green dam go over by the way, not the boehoehoe-we-pretend-to-care-about-porn-and-try-to-protect-you excuse. It's a pathetic excuse and no one should believe that.I think the key is that you must make an issue public before people decide to look in to the situation. Chances are it won't solve the problem but hopefully more people become involved with the issue in an effort to try to take things in a better direction.

    Any effort should never be disregarded as useless.
    Reply
  • brendano257
    wyomingKnottUmm, what China is trying to avoid is "the free flow of information and user choice."IE anything against the government/people in power. And God forbid they learn of this thing called "freedom."
    Reply
  • TheMan1214
    So thanks to the Dams code being stolen allegedly, hp and dell aren't going to supply pc's to china with it installed. So i imagine that it'll just be scrapped completely
    Reply