A Chinese government directive requiring domestic computer manufacturers and manufacturers that export computers to China to pre-install filtering software – “Green Dam Youth Escort” software – was made public on June 8, 2009. Human Rights in China (HRIC) has translated the directive and compiled the following background information on the development and use of the software.
The directive, titled “Notice Regarding Requirements for Pre-Installing Green Filtering Software on Computers,” was issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on May 19, 2009, and was made available on the software provider’s website on June 8, 2009.
The software was jointly developed by the Beijing Dazheng Human Language Technology Academy Company (北京大正语言知识处理科技有限公司) and the Jinhui Computer System Engineering Company (郑州金惠计算机系统工程有限公司). Under the MIIT’s leadership, the two companies established a working group called Green Online Filtering Software Project Working Team in July 2008.
According to information posted by the Department of Software Service Provider Industry (软件服务业司) [unofficial translation by HRIC] of the MIIT, as of June 1, 2009, there have been 2,170,000 installations of the software in about 80 percent of all elementary and high schools in China.
The following is the directive in the original Chinese and in English translation by HRIC.
关于计算机预装绿色上网过滤软件的通知 Notice Regarding Requirements for Pre-installing Green Filtering Software on Computers
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1. Chinese original available at: http://www.lssw365.net/index.php/Content/index/pid/1/sort/11/id/513. ^
2 Unofficial translation by HRIC: Department of Software Service Provider Industry, MIIT (Chinese original: 软件服务业司). ^
3 Unofficial translation by HRIC (full name of department in Chinese: 中共中央精神文明建设办公室). ^