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Hardly renowned on the international stage for its liberal standpoint concerning Internet regulation, China is once again making headlines after enforcing the implementation of porn-blocking software on all domestically sold computer systems.
Really? Even if it blocks your porn supply? Image: Hong Kong dear Edward/Flickr.
While the mandatory installation of the software package – Green Dam-Youth Escort – will likely enable parents to keep pornography out of their children’s reach, it could also help the Chinese government gain an even tighter stranglehold over the flow of content passing through its Internet.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the Chinese government has said the site-blocking safeguard must be pre-installed on or included with all PC systems sold at retail by July 01, and hardware manufacturers are also required to provide details on how many computers they have shipped with the software.
Green Dam-Youth Escort works by drawing information from a compiled blacklist database containing Web sites known to carry images or language of a pornographic nature, and, once established, it duly blocks the user’s computer connection.
Speaking with AP, Zhang Chenmin, general manager of package developer Jinhui Computer System Engineering, said the software could also be used to act on specific inputted keywords, which would allow parents to apply blocks on a wide variety of sensitive subjects.
Of course, the fear is that the Chinese government, which has a track history for blocking access to Web sites with an anti-Communist or pro-democratic political slant, could abuse the software for its own gain by adding political sites to the blacklist.
However, it should be noted that, while users won’t be able to view the full database of blocked destinations, the software will permit the addition of specifically defined user sites to its blacklist and computer owners will be able to fully uninstall the software if they wish.
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