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On June 8, information was made available online that China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology had announced some three weeks ago that starting from July 1, personal computers sold in China have to pre-install Green Dam-Youth Escort, a software package claimed to be able to filter out pornography and other “indecent” content.
According to an exchange between a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry and a Beijing-based foreign correspondent, the software is aimed at preventing children from accessing pornographic and violent websites so as to make their Internet surfing safe and healthy.
If so, it is reasonable to require that Green Dam-Youth Escort be installed on Internet-connected PCs used in Chinese schools and in Internet cafes. However, the truth is that Chinese netizens are mainly adults, who are mature enough to determine what they want to view on the Internet and very much dislike being controlled by the government.
That has led to suspicions that the purpose of the software is instead to bar Chinese from getting access to politically sensitive information. Indeed, a list of content to be blocked from online access has been revealed, and the so-called “vulgar” materials far exceed pornography and violence. Of course, it is no secret that the Chinese government has consistently blocked websites and information deemed to compromise the regime.
In addition, Chinese are concerned that the government may use Green Dam-Youth Escort to monitor websites visited and other activities on the computer, thereby invading their privacy. The finding by University of Michigan scientists that the software had serious security vulnerabilities points to the possibility that it could allow malicious sites to “steal private data, send spam, or enlist the computer in a botnet.”
The way the software package was chosen is controversial as well. Given that the software was selected through government procurement and using taxpayers’ money, a process involving bidding, pretesting and evaluation, and the solicitation of public comments is warranted. Nevertheless, the selection process was not transparent as information is unavailable as to how many companies participated in the product test and the final competitive bid and bargaining.
Because of that, professors Wei Yongzheng and Zhou Ze have suggested that the State Council, China’s Cabinet, withdraw the MIIT decision. Li Fangping, a human rights lawyer in Beijing, filed a petition with the ministry asking it to make available information concerning the selection of Green Dam-Youth Escort and to hold a public hearing.
There also have been accusations that the companies – Jinhui Computer System Engineering in Zhenzhou and Dazheng Language and Knowledge Processing Technology in Beijing – used programming code in Green Dam-Youth Escort from Solid Oak Software, a company based in Santa Barbara, California.
The Green Dam-Youth Escort episode reflects the dilemma that the Chinese government faces with the Internet, and indeed, with technology in general. On one hand, China cannot afford to miss the new technology revolution as it did during the Cultural Revolution, which explains why China has witnessed a fast and massive informatization.
On the other hand, new technology has posed challenges as the Internet and mobile telephony could become tools to disseminate anti-government information and organize anti-government activities.
Therefore, China has deployed a large Internet police force to monitor and censor the Chinese online community. In order to do business in China, major Internet companies have been coerced into blocking access to and self-filtering Chinese networks and websites, and have provided the personal data of web users to the Chinese government. It is against such a backdrop that the recent development on the installation of Green Dam-Youth Escort has been publically contested in China.
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(Cong Cao is a senior research associate with the Neil D. Levin Graduate Institute of International Relations and Commerce at the State University of New York. He received his PhD in sociology from Columbia University in 1997 and has worked at the University of Oregon and the National University of Singapore. Dr. Cao is interested in the social studies of science and technology with a focus on China. ©Copyright Cong Cao.)
