China Stows Internet Censor Software

China has stowed plans for its controversial ‘Green Dam’ Internet filtration software to be installed on all new computers this month. It comes after harsh criticism that the program would tighten censorship, and now critics of the software are celebrating their success.

Chinese web users flooded a trendy cafe to celebrate the last-minute scrapping of a Communist Party-sponsored Internet filtering software rollout.

Dressed in matching t-shirts mocking the widely-unpopular Green Dam program, about 200 Beijing residents talk about censorship and enjoyed a day-long party.

The gathering was originally meant to be part of an Internet boycott to mark the July 1 launch of the filtering software, giving the online generation something to do for the anticipated 24 offline hours.

Of course the atmosphere is now festive as guests enjoy an unlikely victory against the communist regime.

[Ai Weiwei, Boycott Organizer]:
„When we heard that Green Dam had been postponed I was, of course, really happy. I think it is a hard to come by for the central government to turn back on a very important decision the very night before its release. It really is exciting.“

Authorities say the software is intended to stamp out internet pornography, but activists, industry groups and foreign officials say it goes too far calling it politically intrusive, technically flawed and commercially unfair.

In Beijing computer store employees are unclear as to when the software will be installed or sold. They haven’t even heard of it.

The Communist Party’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology says the launch is postponed indefinitely.

Lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan wants authorities to explain why software presumably designed to protect children and teen-agers must be installed on all computers.

[Liu Xiaoyuan, Lawyer]:
„I think the main reason for them backing down on the installation is the questions raised both at home and abroad about the Green Dam software. And a lot of professionals have done tests showing there are loopholes in the software, and some foreign companies also raised the issue of a possible violation of international property rights.“

Liu would not be surprised if authorities tried to push the software at a later date, but as Chinese citizens become increasingly affluent and open-minded, the Communist Party may find that „unsavory“ content is getting harder to control.

(NTDTV)