Pause Button for China's Internet Filter Rule

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After weeks of domestic and international criticism, the Chinese government has delayed a controversial mandate requiring Internet filtering software on every new computer sold in China.

The announcement came just a few hours before the policy's planned start-up at midnight July 1. No new timeframe for the requirement was given.

A Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) spokesperson told the official Xinhua news agency the decision was motivated by computer manufacturers who don't want to be "hasty" about carrying out the massive installation project.

"The ministry plans to continue soliciting opinions to perfect the pre-installation plan," the spokesperson said.

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The Chinese government describes the software, called Green Dam-Youth Escort, as anti-pornography.  But the requirement became a lightning rod for criticism about the program's wider impact after the mandate was announced in early June.  

Lawyers, academics and social activists in China raised a range of concerns, including possible breaches of consumer rights, competition law and government purchasing rules. Many requested greater transparency over the software project.

The technological soundness of the Green Dam program has been a subject of intense debate as well, with several teams of computer scientists finding flaws.

Many leading computer makers declined to oppose the plan publicly. However, The Wall Street Journal reported that a group of 22 international business organizations petitioned Premier Wen Jiabao in late June, urging the Chinese government to cancel the plan, which they deemed a barrier to trade.

"The Green Dam mandate raises significant questions of security, privacy, system reliability, the free flow of information and user choice," the Journal quoted the petitioners as saying.

Additionally, the U.S. government publicly challenged the software June 24, when Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk sent a letter to MIIT and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce urging them to revoke the plan.

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"China is putting companies in an untenable position by requiring them, with virtually no public notice, to pre-install software that appears to have broad-based censorship implications and network security issues," Locke said in a press release announcing the letter.

The latest MIIT announcement did not elaborate on the fate of the disputed plan. But some Green Dam opponents, including the United States, applauded the decision.

"We are aware of the reports last night that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is delaying implementation of the software, and the United States welcomes the opportunity to engage with the relevant Chinese authorities on our concerns regarding the software," Susan Stevenson, a spokeswoman at the U.S.