As Lobbying Against China's Internet Software Intensifies, Acer Says It Will Comply

Last month, the Chinese government mandated that all PCs sold in the country must include "Green Dam Youth Escort" Internet-filtering software.

That mandate is aimed at curbing the availability of pornography to the country's children, according to the government, but reports out of China say that many of its citizens are concerned about its potential for curbing discussions about sensitive political topics.

The software requirement is scheduled to begin July 1.

Reuters reported on Friday that Taiwan-based Acer has become the first international PC manufacturer to admit it would comply with the rules.

The news service quoted Henry Wang, an Acer spokesperson, as saying it plans to look at how to best accommodate the rules. "There're rules when operating in any country, and we'll have to comply with them if necessary," Wang said.

Other PC vendors are quietly making plans to implement the software even as they continue to lobby the Chinese government against enforcing the new regulations.

Those PC makers are also lobbying the U.S. government to speak out against the new rules.

Earlier this week, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke wrote in a joint letter to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and China's Ministry of Commerce that the software requirement might be a violation of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

They also wrote about concerns about the stability of the software, the scope of the filtering activities and security issues, all of which they said have "serious implications" for consumers and businesses.

"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 wrote.

"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 wrote.

A statement from the Office of the United States Trade Representative on the joint letter from Locke and Kirk can be read by clicking here.