CHINA'S Internet backdown lauded by firms, activists

Beijing
The Economic Times

China's ambitions to strengthen control of the Internet with filtering software became a show of the limits of its power on Wednesday, as activists and industry groups welcomed an abrupt delay of the contentious plan.

The surprise climbdown was reported late on Tuesday by Xinhua news agency, which said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology would "delay the mandatory installation of the controversial 'Green Dam-Youth Escort' filtering software on new computers".

Officials said the software was intended to stamp out Internet pornography, and computer companies had originally been told that from Wednesday they had to bundle "Green Dam" with any personal computers heading to stores for sale in the country.

But the order was assailed by opponents of censorship, industry groups and Washington officials as rash, politically intrusive, technically ineffective and commercially unfair. PC companies have mostly avoided making firm public statements on the issue.

Internet professionals and activists were divided over whether the plan will drift into oblivion. But controversial efforts in past years to further control Internet blogs and bulletin boards have died quiet deaths without being officially revoked.