US lodges China censorship protest

[FT News]

The US has complained officially to China over its strict new internet censorship rules as tension builds over an issue causing consternation among international technology companies and Chinese internet users.

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[forum_admin]

The development is a rare direct intervention by the US over internet freedom, which has steadily risen in importance as an issue between the two countries in recent years. US technology companies see it as a back-door way of keeping them out of the Chinese market.

China has ordered PC makers to load internet filtering software from a Chinese company, Green Dam, on all machines on sale from July 1. The order, officially directed at filtering pornography, could give officials far more power to block political content as well.

“We view with concern any attempt to restrict the free flow of information,” said Ian Kelly, a State department spokesman.

“Efforts to filter internet content are incompatible with China’s aspirations to build a modern, information-based economy and society.”

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FT.com / China - US lodges China censorship complaint