Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) president and CEO Gary Shapiro on Wednesday praised the MIIT for deferring the Green Dam mandate, but said technology mandates are "dangerous" and urged the Chinese government to halt the Green Dam filtering software initiative.

"We are pleased with the Ministry's decision to delay implementation of its Green Dam Youth Escort software," Shapiro wrote in a statement, later adding, "We remain concerned that this is a delay and not a death of this proposal. We urge all stakeholders to find better ways of enabling parents to protect their children from inappropriate Internet content."

Green Dam Youth Escort is a software package unveiled in May that the MIIT said is designed to protect children from pornographic, violent or other harmful Internet content. China officials originally said the government would require all computer manufacturers to ship PCs and laptops with the software preinstalled starting on July 1. The MIIT extended the deadline this week after many computer makers said it was too large an undertaking to preinstall Green Dam by the deadline.

Green Dam Youth Escort has also come under fire from the U.S. government and other groups that claim it is designed not only to shield young Internet users from inappropriate content but can also be used to filter or block other information that the Chinese government disagrees with, including political and homosexual content. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk have been vocal opponents of Green Dam and have worked to intervene.

CEA's Shapiro said it's a positive sign that the deadline has been pushed back, but added his agency hopes that the delay will signal the end of Green Dam.

"Technology mandates are dangerous," Shapiro said in a statement. "Access to information is vital, and mandating one system makes that system vulnerable to control and to hacking. We respect cultural differences but believe that freedom of digital travel is an important right. Parents have many tools to monitor and control what their children view on the Internet and the marketplace continues to offer them options. We urge the Chinese government to embrace alternative technologies as they have been supportive of technological freedom in many other areas."