(Not) censoring the web

It's a well-known fact that our good friends in the Chinese government take a somewhat different line on freedom of speech to the rest of the world. But it seems their plan to censor the internet has hit a problem.

It is said the country already has armies of people monitoring the internet and blocking anything deemed politically sensitive or likely to 'corrupt'.

To help this valuable work, China had planned to make compulsory a censorship program called Green Dam. The software has already been installed on more than half a million computers and has been downloaded three million times.

Not only does Green Dam stop people accessing certain internet sites, according to the Daily Telegraph "it may be able to report an individual's web use back to the authorities". (Imagine them trying to flog you that one down at PC World: "And with this feature, sir, you could end up doing a few years in a re-education camp. Anyway, would you be interested in our warranty plan?)

China had planned to make Green Dam compulsory, and the a law doing just that was due to come into force yesterday.

But it didn't happen. It seems that pressure from America, computer manufacturers and the Chinese people has forced a climbdown. The compulsory introduction of Green Dam has been delayed indefinitely.

So, victory for internet freedom? Yes, it would appear so.

But it's certainly something worth keeping an eye on for the future.

Andrew Owen