The Chinese web-filter brouhaha

FRONT PAGE: "PC Firms Face China Decree: Beijing Is Set to Require Web Filter That Would Block Government-Censored Sites," by Loretta Chao, Wall Street Journal, 8 June 2009.

TECHNOLOGY: "New China Web-Filtering Rules Still Murky: Researchers Caution 'Green Dam' Censorship Could Extend Beyond Pornographic Sites," by Geoffrey A. Fowler and Ben Worthen, Wall Street Journal, 9 June 2009.

WORLD NEWS: "China Reacts To Criticism Of Web Filter," by Loretta Chao, Wall Street Journal, 11 June 2009.

WORLD NEWS: "Tests Show Political Side of China Web Filter," by Loretta Chao, Wall Street Journal, 12 June 2009.

EDITORIAL: "China's Computer Folly," New York Times, 12 June 2009.

Interesting to talk to Chinese scholars about this during my recent Shanghai trip. Nobody seemed to think it was going to work very seriously long term.

The basic description:

China plans to require that all personal computers sold in the country as of July 1 be shipped with software that blocks access to certain Web sites, a move that could give government censors unprecedented control over how Chinese users access the Internet.

Although not yet officially announced to the public, everybody I met seemed aware of it. The effort is allegedly designed solely to protect young Chinese from pornography--a very clever rationale.

The software doesn't have to be pre-installed. It can be sent along with the PC on a disk, giving users the choice to install. Hmm.

If installed, IT experts outside of China, having examined the software, say it could transmit personal info, screw up PCs, and expose them to easier hacking.

Nice.

The software is called "Green Dam-Youth Escort," and is likened by the government to parental controls on cable TV. The creator company says it is designed for parents to block certain sites.

Details:

The software works similarly to models long used by companies that sell security and parental-control software. Such programs come with a "black list" of Web sites that have previously been categorized as pornographic, violent, or containing hate speech, as well as words or combinations of words that appear on such sites.

Company founder says that the software could be used to block other content, but that the company has no reason to do so. The company, Jinhui Computer System Engineering, is a contractor to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The Berkman Center at Harvard has tested the software and says that it does what it is designed to do, but that the list of blacked-out sites could be expanded by the company through updates delivered directly to the computer while online.

The list can also be expanded or decreased by users with password, sysadmin control, which logically isn't extended to kids, except by parents whose kids are smarter than they are about computers--a tiny minority at best.

The Chinese ministry in charge says users will have a choice whether to install or not, and that it won't be used to collect personal data, like every company in the U.S. does (nah, I can't see China's government stooping to such behavior).

Meanwhile, the "backlash in China has broadened from the initial outburst on online forums." China Youth Daily has already panned the idea. Damn kids.

Further testing by Berkman (12 June WSJ Chao piece) is said to show that the Green Dam data files "have a broad range of political content." Do tell. Naturally, your 6 better not be followed by a "-4." The software also appears to communicate with a centralized server.

Other tests at U Michigan say the software is perfect for rendering PCs as zombies.

The NYT, like me, remains unimpressed by the effort. The decision is described as "particularly self-destructive and foolish" WRT China's economic future, especially since it's not clear the software will work and not end up crashing a lot of computers. The PRC's government, the NYT points out, has already fielded a ton of recent accusations of incompetency.