China to to Require Web Filtering Software on All PCs
June 8th, 2009The article doesn’t say this, explicitly, but PCs running this software will almost certainly be owned by the Chinese government. That is, when required, it would be as if a member of the Chinese state security services was sitting at the computer in question. They are a root user on the box. They would have the ability to execute the code of their choice on the machine. They could transfer files too or from the target system (especially handy for planting “evidence” of crimes). They could transmit the GUI over the network and actually watch what the user is doing. They could even open the optical drive, on occasion, just to f*%$ with the user. In other words, the government would be able to do just about anything on the computer that the user would be able to do.
Via: Wall Street Journal:
China plans to require that all personal computers sold in the country as of July 1 be shipped with software that blocks access to certain Web sites, a move that could give government censors unprecedented control over how Chinese users access the Internet.
The government, which has told global PC makers of the requirement but has yet to announce it to the public, says the effort is aimed at protecting young people from “harmful” content. The primary target is pornography, says the main developer of the software, a company that has ties to China’s security ministry and military.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The Chinese government has a history of censoring a broad range of Web content. The new requirement could force PC manufacturers to choose between refusing a government order in a major market or opening themselves to charges of abetting censorship.
The software needn’t be preinstalled on each new PC — it may instead be shipped on a compact disc — giving users some choice. But if installed, foreign industry officials who have examined the software say, it could transmit personal information, cause PCs to malfunction, and make them more vulnerable to hacking. It also makes it difficult for users to tell what exactly is being blocked, officials say.
A spokeswoman for Hewlett-Packard Co., which has the largest PC market share of any U.S. vendor in China, said the company is “working with the government authorities and evaluating the best way to approach this. Obviously we will focus on delivering the best customer experience while ensuring that we meet necessary regulatory requirements.”
Well, i like that free-to-choose touch. The Chinese will probably be much more open to their governments offer to help, than the Germans are when their government tries to impose similar stuff on them. If they first get adjusted to having that software on their computers, any prescription isn’t half that hard.
The “free to choose” option would also give them the ability to track who’s on the web without the filter (bad citizen) and who’s on the web with the filter (good citizen).