Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Internet boycott calls to mark China filter debut
Mon Jun 22, 2009 3:39am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Yu Le and Emma Graham-Harrison
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese Internet users are calling on fellow web surfers to stay offline on July 1, the debut of a controversial software filter that critics say the Chinese government is using to tighten censorship.
New regulations from Beijing mandate "Green Dam," a program sold by Jinhui Computer System Engineering Co., be pre-installed on personal computers manufactured or shipped after July 1. China says the filter is designed to block pornography.
But many web users and activists both inside and outside China fear a campaign against "unhealthy" sites is a pretext for a wider crackdown on groups and websites that the government fears or disapproves of.
The U.S. embassy said it viewed with concern any attempt to restrict the free flow of information, and was worried about both the potential impact on trade of the software and the serious technical issues raised by the use of Green Dam.
Outspoken Beijing artist Ai Weiwei, who helped design the landmark Olympic Bird's Nest stadium but has become an increasingly vocal critic of the government, called on web users to boycott use of the Internet on the day of Green Dam's debut.
In a post on Twitter (www.twitter.com), Ai called for the low key protests to mark a day that is also the anniversary of the founding of China's Communist Party.
"Stop any online activities, including working, reading, chatting, blogging, gaming and mailing," Ai wrote in the Chinese-language post. "Don't explain your behavior."
Ai told Reuters he hoped the boycott would gather support because it offered an easy way to make a stand in a country where vocal opposition to government policy can be risky.
"It's an online protest without any cost or risk," Ai told Reuters in an email. "It aims to oppose Internet censorship."
"I haven't counted the number of supporters, but there are many of them," he added.
His message has already been picked up and passed on by other Internet users backing the call for a day offline.
"LACKING MORALITY"
The introduction of Green Dam has raised concerns from industry as well as rights groups, ranging from worries about compatibility, intellectual property rights and support for the software to cyber-security and Internet freedoms.
Initial criticism of the software in Chinese media has been muted in recent days, but the editor of the influential Caijing business magazine on Monday published a commentary slamming Green Dam as lacking validity and moral authority.
"In order to prevent the transmission on the Internet of violence, and of vulgar information that harms young people ... there must be some form of public authority backing up social rights," Hu Shuli wrote. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Sarkozy says burqas have no place in France
Iran's presidential election
Aftermath of Iran's election
Up-to-the-minute news, photos and video of the aftermath of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed election in Iran. Full Coverage
More International News
Iran Guards threaten protest crackdown
| Video
Pakistan army says in final phase of Swat offensive
Brown urges Iraq hostage takers to release Britons
| Video
Russia's Ingushetia leader wounded by suicide bomber
| Video
Two blasts kill eight in Afghan town
More International News...
Featured Broker sponsored link
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Q+A: What might happen with monitored North Korean ship?
Suicide truck bomb kills 34 in northern Iraq | Video
Iran Guards threaten protest crackdown | Video
Brad Pitt baseball drama strikes out
Iran starts airforce manoeuvres in Gulf
Obama: U.S. ready for possible N.Korea missile launch
Rafsanjani daughter released: Iranian state TV
Soros says worst of global crisis is "behind us"
Echo boomers a lifeline for embattled U.S. housing
Damages of $1.9 million could backfire on music industry
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Coconut Kung Fu finger sets record
Latest deadly clashes in Iran
China factory blast kills 16
Two Brit hostages dead in Iraq
Ice swim to mark new solstice
Madonna's adoption
New Greek museum wants Elgin marbles
Car bomb wounds Ingush leader
Japan's robo-chefs
Obama the cartoon character unveiled
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
We want to hear from you
Join the Reuters Consumer Insight Panel and help us get to know you better
Please take a moment to complete our survey
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.