Green Dam Damned – China Backs Down June 30th, 2009
Here is a small morsel of good news if you are still reeling from the turmoil of the past several weeks: China has pulled back from its “Green Damn Youth Escort” software. You recall Green Damn, it was that buggy trash software that China put out to filter the internet, and control its populace. That Green Dam, not this one.
Of course, China was under intense pressure from literally everyone: the US, the EU, hackers, its population. It is one thing to do as Britain does, and slowly lock down a populace with cameras, searches, and brutal laws, but far another to merely announce that you will control all of their information influx. The Chinese government’s hubris can still surprise, even to this day. If they are playing a hearts and minds campaign, they are failing.
Perhaps they will merely attempt to patch the software, and go at it again, at which point PC manufacturers will have yet another choice: give in? In all honesty, if all the PC manufacturers refused it, the Chinese government would be in trouble. Computers are a vital aspect of the modern economy, and the Chinese powerhouse would not work without them. Now, if the Federal government would create a pool, of say one billion dollars, and use that to repay a portion of lost profits to PC manufacturers, they might make a stand.
China would be immediately pinched. Let me rephrase my intentions: Green Damn sets back the hopes of a more free Chinese society. That is both bad for China, and the world. Green Damn is digital tyranny.
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