China delays installation of internet filtering software
China indefinitely postpones plans to install censorship software on all computers sold on mainland
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Wednesday, 01, Jul 2009 09:52
China has indefinitely postponed plans to install censorship software on all computers sold in the country.
The government plan forcing manufacturers to include a programme, known as Green Dam, on every computer sold in China was "delayed" just hours before it had been due to come into effect.
The controversial programme filters the internet and blocks access to pornography and 'politically sensitive content'.
Reports suggest it also had the capability of sending reports of a user's web use back to authorities.
In the face of strong criticism from both manufacturers and internet users, the Chinese government appears to have backed down from the compulsory measure.
The Xinhua state-run news agency though said the programme had been postponed because "such massive installation demanded extra time".
China has attempted to ban a number of websites in recent months, with clampdowns on pornography and sites linking to "obscene material" such as the search engine Google.