US Urges China to Reconsider Web Filtering Law

US Urges China to Reconsider Web Filtering Law

The US government has spurred China to work over its web filtering laws.  US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, together with trade representative Ron Kirk revealed that they have sent the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology a letter, urging the country to reconsider implementing the Green Dam integration with computer systems.
 

The matter earned global attention as computer vendors across the world would be compelled to bundle the Green Dam software with their systems to transact business in China. Chinese officials claim the software is designed to filter pornographic content, but somehow the public see it diffently.  Some people believe the government would only use the tool to monitor web activity.

 

Kirk and Locke aired the same arguments in their letter to the Chinese Government. 

 

"Protecting children from inappropriate content is a legitimate objective, but this is an inappropriate means and is likely to have a broader scope," Locke explained.

 

"Mandating technically flawed Green Dam software and denying manufacturers and consumers freedom to select filtering software is an unnecessary and unjustified means to achieve that objective, and poses a serious barrier to trade," he added.