US, EU calls on China to revoke internet filtering software rule
25 Jun 2009
US trade officials have urged China to stop its requirement that all personal computers shipped to the country be installed with web-filtering software.
The European Union is also a party to the complaint alongside the US.
US secretary of commerce Gary Locke and trade representative Ron Kirk sent a joint letter to their counterparts in China's ministry of industry and information technology (MIIT) and ministry of commerce (MOFCOM) urging China to revoke a proposed rule.
The new rule mandate that all computers produced and sold in China pre-install a widely-criticised Chinese internet filtering programme called Green Dam.
This proposed measure is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2009.
The letter points out that the proposed new rule raises fundamental questions regarding regulatory transparency and notes concerns about compliance with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, such as notification obligations.
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