A preliminary study by a team at the university of michigan shows how the software blocks undesirable or politically sensitive content and optionally reports it to authorities. Summary we have discovered remotelyexploitable vulnerabilities in green dam, the censorship software reportedly mandated by the chinese government. Chinese schools ax green dam censorship software slashdot. Censorship software already installed in over 500,000 chinese computers the controversial chinese green dam computer program that censors the internet has already been installed on more than half. Law firm in green dam suit targeted with cyberattack. Green dam filtering software a censorship boondoggle blogger. Jun 30, 2009 what delayed chinas internet censorship. It also limits surfing time and access to web games to prevent internet addiction. So speculation is rampant that the software, dubbed green dam youth escort, will be used for censorship or surveillance if not immediately, then whenever chinas next human rights crisis arises. The character is rife with symbolism that is well known in china but which is lost on most foreigners, and it needs further explanation. All new computers sold in china were then due to be packaged with green dam software but this was delayed as pc makers. Heres an expert from todays commerce department press release that. Jun 19, 2009 the directive makes clear that the government intends to ensure universal use of green dam on new computers in china. The chinese regimes green damyouth escort filtering software has become a censorship boondoggle.
Green dam youth escort is contentcontrol software for windows developed in the peoples republic of china. And for more on green damand how anticensorship groups are working to stop itwe go to matt gnaizda in the studio. Jul 01, 2009 the protesters arrived in tshirts making fun of green dam, and were preparing for a daylong boycott of the internet to protest the censorship software. Liu jinafpgetty images liu jinafpgetty images melamine in milk, lead in toys, and toxic drywallthese have been recent examples of the shoddy and corrupt production practices that occur in all parts of the chinese economy. China backs down over controversial censorship software. Exploit code for chinas green dam censorship app permits.
The green dam software has become a major topic of discussion in the blogosphere. China intent on requiring internet censor software the new. Green dam developers have said that users will be able to disable the software, but u. Green dam has also come under fire for exposing users to security breaches, with experts warning it could easily be hacked, and a usbased software firm is threatening to sue the chinese. 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, kirk said. Green dam is using opencv as a way to detect nudity in online images. Any web site a green dam user visits can take control of the pc.
Called green dam a reference to slogans that describe a smutfree internet as green the software is designed to filter out sexually explicit images and words, according to the company that. Chinas green dam internet filtering system will go ahead. Jun 24, 2009 green dam is chinas censorship software that, as of july 1st, must be installed in any computer sold in china. The program complements the existing internet censorship system, and extends it to many third party applications, such as skype and text editors which are monitored for the use of forbidden phrases such as falun gong. The controversy over green dam is just the latest attempt to make computer, software and internet companies complicit in chinas attempts to censor the internet, said ganesan. The chinese regimes green dam youth escort filtering software has become a censorship boondoggle. Chinese governments arguments in promoting the installation of the green damyouth escort software or green dam, henceforth were said to block children from viewing online pornography and other harmful content chao and dean, 2009, p. Chinese government requires censorship software to. On june 30, communist china postponed its requirement that the controversial green dam youth escort censorship software be included with all computers sold in the country as of july 1.
Green dam is chinas censorship software that, as of july 1st, must be installed in any computer sold in china. The aborted green damyouth escort censorware project in. Called green dam a reference to slogans that describe a smutfree internet as green the software is designed to filter out sexually explicit images and words, according to the. Green tsunami gives users options to temporarily disable the monitoring of green dam, or to completely remove it from users computers.
Jul 01, 2009 censorship software already installed in over 500,000 chinese computers the controversial chinese green dam computer program that censors the internet has already been installed on more than half. Bbc news technology anger in china over web censorship. Beijing steps up internet censorship financial times. The chinese government may be backing down from its plan to install new filtering software, green dam, on all chinese computers. From blogs to newspapers to internet sites, there has been a groundswell of criticism with individuals and organizations revealing glitches and weaknesses with the program as well as its more suspicious intent to limit free political discourse. Jun 23, 2009 green dam is a new chinese state censorship program mandated to be provided with all pcs sold in china after july 1, 2009. Solid oak software of the united states alleges that parts of its cybersitter filtering software, including a pornography blacklist, are being used in green dam. Law firm in green dam suit targeted with cyberattack cso. Censorship isnt the only problem with chinas new internet. The chinese government today revoked a controversial mandate that would have forced all computer manufacturers to equip products sold in. Jul 02, 2009 chinas controversial plan to install green dam internet filtering software on all computers will go ahead despite being postponement, a government official told state media today the official. Jun 17, 2009 a salesman adjusts computer items at a supermarket in beijing. Jun 16, 2009 china backs down over controversial censorship software this article is more than 10 years old green dam, which blocks access to porn and politically sensitive websites, will not be compulsory. But as news spread of green dams delay, the protest quickly became a victory celebration.
The program complements the existing internet censorship system, and. It filters politically sensitive content, such as information regarding the 1989 crackdown on prodemocracy demonstrators in tiananmen square, and has the capacity to suddenly close applications like microsoft. Jun 09, 2009 called green dam a reference to slogans that describe a smutfree internet as green the software is designed to filter out sexually explicit images and words, according to the company that. Originally under a directive from the ministry of industry and information technology to take effect on 1 july 2009, it was to be mandatory to have either the software preinstalled, or have the setup files on an accompanying compact disc, for all new personal computers sold in mainland china, including those imported from abroad. Internet censorship experts around the world are still figuring out exactly what green dam can and cannot do. Plus, some users in china might not have the knowledge or ability to disable green. China requires censorship software on new pcs the new york. The botnet threat in chinas censorship software cnet. China requires censorship software on new pcs news. We have discovered remotelyexploitable vulnerabilities in green dam, the censorship software reportedly mandated by the chinese government. Called green dam a reference to slogans that describe a smutfree internet as green the software is designed to filter out sexually explicit images and words, according to the company that designed it. Interestingly, the green dam software is identified as malware by antivirus software from the largest free antivirus company in china.
Jun 09, 2009 called green dam a reference to slogans that describe a smutfree internet as green the software is designed to filter out sexually explicit images and words, according to the. Green dam and the great cavein of china network world. Anger in china over web censorship china has delayed a plan requiring all new computers sold in the country to be equipped with internet filtering software. Aside from censorship, green dam also keeps a record and screen shots of the content browsed by users. Heres an expert from todays commerce department press release that explains our. First, involuntary censorship of all adults internet access is a human rights violation. In addition to security vulnerabilities, wolchok, yao and halderman also found that a number of blacklist files used by green dam youth escort were taken from the censorship program cybersitter, from solid oak software inc. Ostensibly intended to block unhealthy and vulgar material, green dam in fact would have brought censorship into peoples homes. Chinese green dam censorship system exploit, 22 jun 2009. Law firm in green dam suit targeted with cyberattack cio. The software will still be available for individuals to use if they. The software and its two chinese developers are coming under legal attack by. The green dam software is intended to filter out explicit language and pornographic images, but early user reports indicate that this software might not be as slick as many might have expected. I think that green dam girl has become sufficiently notable to get her own page, or at least her own sub section on another page such as moe anthropomorphism.
Green dam is a new chinese state censorship program mandated to be provided with all pcs sold in china after july 1, 2009. Programming errors in the beijingmandated green dam filtering software could let bad guys take control of pcs using it. Backlash mounts against chinas mandated web censorship software. The character is rife with symbolism that is well known in china but which is lost on most foreigners, and it. The chinese regimes green damyouth escort filtering software has become a. The circular says the requirement applies to both chinese and foreign companies selling computers in china. User testimonials of the performance of green dam have described fatal flaws in the software. Chinas announcement that the green dam software would now be optional could become a parable of the power of the internet. According to press reports, china will soon require all. Top four reasons why green dam youth escort censorship. The green damyouth escort software is supposed to censor pornographywhich many consider a laudable goalbut also blocks politically sensitive material and appears to allow monitoring of user.
The protesters arrived in tshirts making fun of green dam, and were preparing for a daylong boycott of the internet to protest the censorship software. The directive makes clear that the government intends to ensure universal use of green dam on new computers in china. The censorship software, green dam, has been developed with the support of the chinese government, which then announced the mandatory installation program for the alleged purpose of blocking pornography and other harmful content, and to protect underage youth. According to press reports, china will soon require all pcs sold in the country to include green dam.
The filtering blacklists include both political and adult content. Chinas green dam censorship software looks pretty damn lame by rick martin the wall street journal wrote a piece earlier this week entitled china squeezes pc makers where they outlined the chinese governments recent requirement that pc makers to ship their machines with internet filtering software. Green dam filtering software a censorship boondoggle. Pc makers, civil liberties groups, chinese media and average web users are lashing out against the green dam software, citing everything from freespeech issues to technical problems that. Censorship software already installed in over 500,000 chinese. It appears to use opensource computer vision software developed by intel called opencv. The green dam software filters content by blocking urls and web site images and by monitoring text in other applications. Aug, 2009 the chinese government today revoked a controversial mandate that would have forced all computer manufacturers to equip products sold in china with the green dam youth escort filtering software. All new computers sold in china were then due to be packaged with green dam software but. China faces piracy suit over censorship software slashdot. China backs down over controversial censorship software this article is more than 10 years old green dam, which blocks access to porn and politically sensitive websites, will.
A salesman adjusts computer items at a supermarket in beijing. Tiny software firm adds to green dam mess marketwatch. The green dam youth escort software is supposed to censor pornographywhich many consider a laudable goalbut also blocks politically sensitive material and appears to allow monitoring of user. Chinas controversial plan to install green dam internet filtering software on all computers will go ahead despite being postponement, a government official told state media today the official. Software that blocks access to pornography can easily be configured to block access to, say, amnesty international. Jul 02, 2009 tiny software firm adds to green dam mess. Backlash mounts against chinas mandated web censorship.
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