Beijing to install censor software in home PCs

China plans to require all personal computers sold in the country as of July 1 to include software that prevents access to an automatically updated list of web sites banned by the government.

The plan is aimed at preventing “harmful” information from influencing young people, according to an unpublished ministry of industry and information technology document.
PC makers have been told of the requirement, part of a government program called ‘Green Dam-Youth Escort,’ the newspaper said. “The apparent objective of the software is to control access to pornographic sites, but we don’t know what else is in the code,” said Charles Mok, chairman of the Hong Kong division of Internet Society.

“Computer users have no control over modifications to the software, which may be used to collect personal data or filter other web sites.”

China has the world’s largest web users, blocks websites for organisations such as Amnesty International whose content it deems unacceptable. Twitter and Bing.com were inaccessible in China last week as the govt tightened security before the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square.