Tech Stream

Cracks appear in China’s Green Dam

16 June 2009

It seems having the most sophisticated internet filtering and blocking system in the world is simply not enough for the authorities in China. Now they are seeking to implement a more thorough and universal solution at the user-end which they say is aimed at blocking access to pornographic and violence-oriented websites. But of course it’s being viewed, both inside and outside China, as a bid at mass censorship and a threat to personal privacy. More after the jump…

As with other countries keen on such a filtering plan the purpose of this attempt to control what people can access on the internet is to protect children. OMG Why won’t someone think of the children!? China isn’t doing this at an ISP level, but will instead mandate the inclusion of software called Green Dam-Youth Escort on every PC sold or used in the country from July 1st.

Well, if only it were that straightforward. Most savvy internet users in China can get around the very effective Great Firewall of China by using tools like specially configured Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and proxy servers located in other countries. But this new software blocks access to content deemed ‘inappropriate’ directly from the user’s machine.   Now, as anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of the way content on the net works could tell you, trying to filter by things like keywords or even, in this case strangely, colours will lead to some perfectly acceptable sites and other content being blocked.

The ABC’s PM program reports, for example, that the lovable, lasagna-obsessed cartoon character Garfield has been blocked. And internet users who are testing the Green Dam software say its also blocking pictures of babies and pigs because of they are skin-coloured and… naked.  

Maybe this is just teething trouble and these bugs are already being ironed out. But there are also some fairly major technical difficulties involved in rolling out and managing such a system.  And there are also legitimate concerns that the new software is essentially a form of malware that will open users up to malicious attacks from cyber-criminals and potentially make their personal information (like bank account details) vulnerable. As ABC News online reports:

Researchers at the University of Michigan who examined the software said it contained serious security vulnerabilities that could allow outside parties to take control of computers running it via remote access. It also added that the software’s text filter blocked words that included obscenities and phrases considered politically sensitive to China’s ruling Communist Party.

And a company in the United States is claiming that the Green Dam software contains programming code stolen from one of their filtering products. At the same time The Register reports that open source code is also used in the software without proper attribution.  The plot thickens.

Writing today in the China Daily Cui Jia reports that officials in China are in damage control, denying the software is mandatory but still insisting the installation setup files must be included on the harddrive of all PCs sold from July 1st, or that a CDROM with the software be made available.  From there, supposedly, it will be up to users to install.  Some of the bugs reported by the University of Michigan have also been fixed according to officials in China.

I’ll be covering this story in the Tech Stream on Friday, and would be keen to include your thoughts on this. Feel free to leave comment below. And for a local perspective on this new filter I recommend the excellent coverage and discussion on the Global Voices’ China site.