China said it hasn’t changed last month’s directive that PCs sold in the country contain state-backed anti-pornography software, dismissing reports that the government had altered the requirement.
The government is working to clarify the directive issued on May 19 for the use of the “Green Dam Youth Escort” software, Wang Lijian (王立健), spokesman at the Ministry of Industry and Information Industry, said by telephone yesterday.
The Associated Press (AP) reported earlier yesterday that China planned to make the installation of the “Green Dam” software optional, citing an unidentified ministry official.
The statement signals a reversal in the government’s position on the software, AP said.
It said that the official China Daily newspaper trumpeted the news on its front page with the headline, “Porn-filtering software: It’s up to users.”
China will require all PCs sold in the country to include the “Green Dam” software starting on July 1 to block Internet pornography and other “unhealthy” online content, it said in a May 19 directive, which was was publicly circulated on June 9.
Although the government says the software is aimed at blocking violence and pornography, users who have tried it say it prevents access beyond those topics to discussions of homosexuality, images of comic book characters, mentions of the banned Falun Gong spiritual group and, Hong Kong media reports said, images of pigs because the software confuses them with naked human flesh.
The regulation had sparked public outcry, with lawyers, bloggers and academics formally challenging the mandate with lawsuits and petitions while average Internet users viciously mocked it.
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