What would happen if the federal government ordered all computer makers to implement technology that filtered certain websites and tracked the online behaviour of all users? That’s effectively what happened in China a few weeks ago, when the government announced its “Green Dam” policy — a mandatory process by which computer manufacturers and retailers were to be required to include filtering software, software that would be directed primarily at pornography and adult content, but that would also allow the government to block content critical of Chinese authorities or policies.
The Green Dam project was to go into effect July 1, but with just hours to go before the deadline, the government decided to postpone the launch, although it isn’t clear whether the proposal is being cancelled, or whether it has just been delayed. A statement from the offical news wire Xinhua said that computer makers complained they needed more time to implement the software behind the Green Dam policy.
There were other concerns, however, that might have convinced the Chinese authorities to postpone or possible even cancel the requirement. One was an outcry from computer makers and distributors at being forced to become an extension of the government’s censorship policy, something that until now has been accomplished primarily through controls on Internet service providers and websites directly. An international group of business organizations — including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the European-American Business Council and the Information Technology Industry Council — sent a strongly-worded letter to Chinese premier Wen Jiabao, and the U.S. government sent letters arguing that such a policy might breach China’s obligations as part of the World Trade Organization.
There were also claims by one U.S. company that the filtering software PC makers were required to install was a copy of its own technology and therefore a breach of trademark laws. And a Chinese technology consultant said that its investigation of the software showed that it contained security holes that would make users’ PCs vulnerable to hackers.
As some observers have pointed out, the Green Dam project threatened to extend the range of companies affected by — and implicated in — China’s repression of its citizens, from just the Big Three search companies (Google, Microsoft and Yahoo) to every computer maker and distributor inside or outside the country. And China isn’t the only repressive government to stir up these kinds of issues by turning to technology as a way of extending its reach: Iran has also been in the news recently because of its Internet-filtering technology.
According to a recent story in the Wall Street Journal, the Iranian government has developed highly sophisticated censorship technology that is based on software and equipment from several European companies, including Nokia. The Finland-based company’s involvement has sparked outrage from a number of quarters, including an Internet petition aimed at forcing Nokia to stop selling its technology to Iran. The company, meanwhile, has said that it only sold Iran standard voice-monitoring software, not anything that provides deep-packet inspection capabilities or Internet monitoring.
If nothing else, the postponing and potential cancellation of China’s Green Dam project shows — as Rebecca MacKinnon of Global Voices notes — shows that if companies and organizations and foreign governments stand together, it is possible to get even the most intractable of governments to bend.