China to require censorship software

8 Jun 2009

The government of China government plans to require all PCs sold in the country to be shipped with software that blocks certain websites from July 1st.

This is aimed at "constructing a green, healthy, and harmonious internet environment, and preventing harmful information on the internet from influencing and poisoning young people," according to a May 19 Chinese government notice the newspaper cited.

The move is expected to give government censors heightened control over citizens of Chinas use the internet and protect people from "harmful" content such as pornography.

The software is called "Green Dam-Youth Escort," and will block access to banned sites by connecting to a regularly updated database of banned sites, then blocking access to those addresses.

The Chinese government has a reputation for restricting access to the internet.

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