PC Makers Scramble To Comply With July 1 Green Dam Deadline

U.S. PC makers are scrambling to comply with a July 1 deadline imposed by China requiring that all computers sold in that country be equipped with Web filtering software.

Computer makers including Dell, Acer and Hewlett-Packard are looking into the specifics of China's demand to preinstall the "Green Dam Youth Escort" Web filtering software into their PCs.

Earlier this week, two U.S. trade officials, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, sent a joint letter to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Ministry of Commerce, urging leaders to revoke the Green Dam mandate, citing trade barriers and censorship issues.

The letter points out that the Web filtering mandate could "be a serious barrier to trade" for U.S. businesses and raises "fundamental questions" regarding regulatory transparency. It could also possibly violate trade terms established by the World Trade Organization, such as adequate notification obligations, the letter said.

Ostensibly, the Green Dam software would be used to shield children from viewing pornography and violence on the Internet. However, researchers have found that Green Dam software contains critical security flaws that would enable the Chinese government to monitor the surfing behaviors of its users and potentially block user access to politically controversial Web sites.

The mandate is part of a broader effort to reinforce censorship laws and control users' Internet behavior. Earlier this month, China accused Google of linking to pornography and promoting other "lewd" content that violated national laws.

Researchers also found that the Green Dam software, created by a previously unknown Chinese-based developer, also contains holes that would allow external hackers to direct users to malicious Web sites and take control of their PCs.

China announced its Web filtering mandate in May, leaving U.S. computers makers unprepared for what promises to be an extensive overhaul of computers sold to China. In the letter, Locke and Kirk also listed numerous concerns raised by global technology companies to Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Minister Li Yizhong and Ministry of Commerce Minister Chen Deming. Among the concerns, voiced by Chinese citizens and the worldwide media, were issues regarding the security weaknesses in the software, its potential to be used for censorship and spying purposes, and the financial ramifications for U.S. PC vendors, which will likely have to make significant and costly changes to their sales and production strategies in order to be compliant.

"China is putting companies in an untenable position by requiring them, with virtually no public notice, to preinstall software that appears to have broad-based censorship implications and network security issues," Locke said in a statement issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

In addition to financial losses, U.S. computer makers will face public criticism if they comply with China's censorship demands.

"Protecting children from inappropriate content is a legitimate objective, but this is an inappropriate means and is likely to have a broader scope. 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," Kirk said in a statement.

Going forward, U.S. government officials are making efforts to hold discussions with Chinese government and industry officials to come up with ways in which Web filtering software can be used in the market while still maintaining individual choice, free flow of information and freedom of expression for Chinese citizens.