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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| US objects to China's net filter | US objects to China's net filter |
| (29 minutes later) | |
| The US has called on China to scrap its plan to put net-filtering software on all its computers. | The US has called on China to scrap its plan to put net-filtering software on all its computers. |
| It said that China's proposals would violate its free trade obligations, weaken computer security and raise serious censorship concerns. | It said that China's proposals would violate its free trade obligations, weaken computer security and raise serious censorship concerns. |
| China has demanded that all computers come supplied with software called Green Dam from 1 July, which it says would filter out pornographic content. | |
| The proposals have been criticised even within China. | |
| The US's objections also came a day after it filed an unfair trade complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over raw material exports. | The US's objections also came a day after it filed an unfair trade complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over raw material exports. |
| The latest comment raises the concern about a broader trade war between the US and China over everything from computer security to chicken poultry imports. | The latest comment raises the concern about a broader trade war between the US and China over everything from computer security to chicken poultry imports. |
| 'Unjustified' | 'Unjustified' |
| "Mandating technically flawed Green Dam software and denying manufacturers and consumers freedom to select filtering software is an unnecessary and unjustified means to achieve that objective, and poses a serious barrier to trade," said US Trade Representative Ron Kirk. | "Mandating technically flawed Green Dam software and denying manufacturers and consumers freedom to select filtering software is an unnecessary and unjustified means to achieve that objective, and poses a serious barrier to trade," said US Trade Representative Ron Kirk. |
| The US is now complaining that putting such pressure on manufacturers to pre-install or supply the software would violate China's WTO free trade obligations. | The US is now complaining that putting such pressure on manufacturers to pre-install or supply the software would violate China's WTO free trade obligations. |
| "China is putting companies in an untenable position by requiring them, with virtually no public notice, to pre-install software that appears to have broad-based censorship implications and network security issues," said US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. | "China is putting companies in an untenable position by requiring them, with virtually no public notice, to pre-install software that appears to have broad-based censorship implications and network security issues," said US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. |
| The Green Dam Youth Escort software was created to stop people looking at "offensive" content such as pornographic or violent websites, China has said. | The Green Dam Youth Escort software was created to stop people looking at "offensive" content such as pornographic or violent websites, China has said. |
| But China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology later said that use of the software was not compulsory and that it was possible to uninstall the program. | But China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology later said that use of the software was not compulsory and that it was possible to uninstall the program. |
| Tests carried out on Green Dam outside China also showed that it left PCs open to many different security risks, including being hijacked. | Tests carried out on Green Dam outside China also showed that it left PCs open to many different security risks, including being hijacked. |
| Petitions calling for Green Dam to be scrapped have circulated widely within China, which has the world's largest net-using population. | |
| Google outage | Google outage |
| Meanwhile, it appeared that China had blocked users of Google in China from using the search engine. | Meanwhile, it appeared that China had blocked users of Google in China from using the search engine. |
| Users in Beijing and Shanghai said they could not access Google's main site, its Chinese-language version nor its mail services. | Users in Beijing and Shanghai said they could not access Google's main site, its Chinese-language version nor its mail services. |
| "We have found that Google has spread a lot of pornographic content, which is a serious violation of Chinese laws and regulations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said. | "We have found that Google has spread a lot of pornographic content, which is a serious violation of Chinese laws and regulations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said. |
| He urged the company to abide by local rules, but said he had no specific details on the outage. | He urged the company to abide by local rules, but said he had no specific details on the outage. |
| The disruption comes a week after China accused Google of deliberately linking to "pornographic and vulgar" content and ordered it to stop. | The disruption comes a week after China accused Google of deliberately linking to "pornographic and vulgar" content and ordered it to stop. |
| Google said it was looking to why there was an outage. | Google said it was looking to why there was an outage. |