Big Business Groups Complain to China’s Premier over Green Dam Internet Filter

22 business organizations have sent a letter to Premier Wen Jiabao, appealing to the Chinese government to drop the requirement that every PC sold inside China come pre-installed with the Green Dam-Youth Escort Internet filter by July 1.  From Loretta Chao at The Wall Street Journal:

An international group of business associations that includes most of the world’s major technology companies submitted a letter to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao urging the government to scrap a requirement that personal computers come with Internet-filtering software.

Submitted Friday, the letter was signed by the heads of 22 organizations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the European-American Business Council, the Information Technology Industry Council and other associations from North America, Europe, and Japan.

[…]The letter, which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal, says the plan “raises serious concerns for us and seems to run counter to China’s important goal of becoming a vibrant and dynamic information-based society.”

[…]So far, the government has shown no signs of backing down. There is a risk that the letter could make it difficult for Mr. Wen to intervene, because he might risk being seen as siding with foreign companies against members of his own government.

Follow the Green Dam story from the beginning at CDT’s Green Dam tag.

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