Internet spat reveals limits to Beijing’s power

BEIJING – China’s ambitions to tighten control of the internet with filtering software became a show of the limits of its power this week, as activists and industry groups welcomed an abrupt delay of the contentious plan.

The surprise clampdown 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 online pornography, and computer makers had originally been told that from Wednesday they had to bundle Green Dam with any personal computers (PCs) for sale in the country.But the order was assailed by opponents of censorship, industry groups and US officials as politically intrusive, technically ineffective and commercially unfair. PC makers have mostly avoided making firm public statements on the issue.’This shows that social pressure can’t be ignored,’ said Zhou Ze, a Beijing lawyer who challenged the plan’s legality.’They tried to control public opinion to back the plan by creating a fuss about pornography, but that failed, and they will have learnt to be more careful next time.’The decision was the latest turn in a see-saw battle between the Communist Party, wary of the internet as a conduit of political dissent, and social and commercial forces pressing to use it as a channel for more unfettered expression.Google has been caught in recent controversy over censorship, and the stakes can be high.China has about 300 million internet users. Data research firm Gartner estimates that 42,6 million PCs will be sold across the country this year.The country’s largest PC brand is home-grown Lenovo, although global players such as Dell and Acer have made strong headway in recent years.Internet professionals and activists are divided over whether the plan will drift into oblivion after the indefinite delay. Controversial past efforts to clamp down on internet blogs and bulletin boards have died quiet deaths without being officially revoked.Chinese internet enthusiasts crowded an art centre on Beijing’s outskirts yesterday, to celebrate the last-minute halt to the filtering plan and demand freedom of expression in the one-party state. Many wore T-shirts mocking Green Dam.’It has not been cancelled, just put back, so it’s possible that after a time it will be pushed back out,’ said Liu Xiaoyuan, one of the partygoers.The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology rejected claims that the filter plan threatened free speech, violated international trade rules or was chosen without proper tender processes. It said use of the software was optional.But Ed Black, the president of the US-based Computer and Communications Industry Association, said the backdown showed that Washington still had some sway in Beijing.’This shows that when US trade officials get involved, they get results,’ Black said.’Internet censorship is a widespread problem, and for too long companies have been left on their own to negotiate with other countries.’Taiwan-based Acer said it would seek clarification from the Chinese government and would meet any new deadline.Chen Yongmiao, a Beijing-based rights activist, said the reversal would make China more cautious in enforcing internet controls. – Nampa-Reuters