MIIT Requires 'Green Dam' Filtering Software on All PCs
Tencent Tech, 6/10/09
Domestic PC manufacturers, retailers and importers must all pre-install "Green Dam – Youth Escort" Internet filtering software on all units as of July 1, according to a notice circulated by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The software is capable of intercepting pornographic content and filtering harmful websites, and allows users to examine Internet usage data.
An executive at Beijing-based PC and peripherals manufacturer Founder Technology (600601.SH) said the company is setting up the pre-install process and that all Founder products will carry the software by July. Similarly, a representative of Beijing-based high-tech conglomerate Tsinghua Tongfang (600100.SH) said the software would be pre-installed on all their products by the end of June.
The MIIT recently required "Green Dam – Youth Escort" software to be installed by the end of May on computers in every primary and middle school, and pre-installed on home PCs sold as part of China's program to subsidize rural consumer purchases of personal computers. By the deadline, 2.62 mln PCs on 20,967 campuses nationwide were running the software. To date, the software is available on 106 websites and has been downloaded 717.25 mln times.
Editor's Note: The MIIT purchased a one year license agreement for "Green Dam – Youth Escort" for RMB 41.7 mln and made it freely available to the public. According to data from lssw365.net, a website maintained by the MIIT and its partner companies Zhengzhou Jinhui Computer Systems Engineering and Beijing Dazheng Language Knowledge Processing Technologies, PC and laptop manufacturers Lenovo (0992.HK), Inspur (000977.SZ), and Hedy (002027.SZ) have signed agreements and already pre-installed the software on 52.7 mln machines, and the software has been downloaded from the site 251,985 times, reports National Business Daily.
For more information on the MIIT's procurement of filtering software, please see MII Announces Filtering Software Procurement Results, MD, 5/20/08.
Keywords: government 000977.SZ 0992.HK 600100.SH 600601.SH Dazheng Hedy Inspur Internet Lenovo MIIT PC pre-installed rural software Tsinghua Tongfang Founder Technology Group monitoring pornography regulation Jinhui Computer Dazheng Language Knowledge