Tuesday, June 30, 2009

China Abandons Web Filtering Plan

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and Commerce Department are heartened by Tuesday reports that the Chinese government is indefinitely postponing a mandate requiring all personal computers sold and manufactured in the country include a controversial Internet filtering program. "We understand that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is delaying the implementation of the Green Dam software requirement. The United States welcomes the opportunity to engage with the relevant Chinese authorities on our concerns regarding the software," the agencies said in statement. The rule would have taken effect July 1.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke wrote to China last week arguing the government's plan could run afoul of World Trade Organization obligations. Their joint letter also laid out for Industry and Information Technology Minister Li Yizhong and Commerce Minister Chen Deming the fears raised by high-tech firms, Chinese citizens and media about the software's stability, the scope and extent of filtering, and potential security weaknesses. China is putting companies in "an untenable position" in its stated attempt to safeguard children from inappropriate content, they wrote. [Read more in CongressDaily here]

High-tech groups cheered the news. "This shows that when U.S. trade officials get involved, they get results," Computer and Communications Industry Association President Ed Black said. "For too long, companies have been left on their own to negotiate with other nations. Companies don't want to be caught in the middle. You need governments to fight governments." Black went on to say the Green Dam flap is part of a larger struggle between openness and repression -- not just in China but Iran and North Korea. He called for the U.S. government to negotiate Internet openness and freedom issues as part of future trade and other international agreements.