GREEN DAM INTERNET FILTERING SOFTWARE DEMARCHE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 001682 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/CM - SFLATT, JHABJAN STATE FOR EEB/CIP - SFLYNN, FSAED USTR FOR AWINTER, JMCHALE, TWINELAND, AMAIN COMMERCE FOR MAC COMMERCE FOR ITA - IKASSOF, NMELCHER DOJ FOR CCIPS - MDUBOSE, SCHEMTOB FBI FOR LBRYANT STATE FOR WHITE HOUSE OSTP AMBASSADOR RICHARD RUSSELL NSC FOR MELISSA HATHAWAY E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2019 TAGS: ETRD PGOV PHUM SOCI SCUL ECON CH SUBJECT: GREEN DAM INTERNET FILTERING SOFTWARE DEMARCHE DELIVERED REF: A. BJ 1520 ¶B. BJ 1538 Classified By: Economic Minister Counselor Robert S. Luke. Reasons 1.4 (b/d) ¶1. (C) Summary. The Chinese government has a legal obligation to protect children from inappropriate content on the web Ministry of Industry and Information Technology told EMIN June 19. Mandating the internet filtering software Green Dam be provided with every new computer sold in China is in accordance with Chinese law and does not violate China's WTO commitments, they insisted. Manufacturers can pre-install the software on the hard drive or provide a CD-ROM in the computer's box. The Chinese government will provide the software free-of-charge for one year, but officials declined to speculate as to what would happen in year two and beyond. End Summary. ¶2. (C) The Chinese government has, by law, an obligation to protect young people from inappropriate content on the web, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) Department of Software and Information Service Deputy Director General Chen Ying told EMIN during a June 19 meeting to demarche MIIT on China's Green Dam - Escort of the Youth Flowers (Green Dam) software (ref A). Children are becoming more technologically savvy and parents need a tool that will allow them to control what their children do online, he said. Green Dam, a Chinese-developed internet filtering software, can serve as that tool, Ying explained. All countries have the right to act in accordance with their laws and mandating the Green Dam software be provided with all new computer purchases is strictly in accordance with Chinese law, he stressed. ¶3. (C) Chen stated that the media and Chinese bloggers greatly overstated issues regarding Green Dam's stability and its ability to take control of a computer. He added that all software, including Microsoft Windows, has bugs and is at risk of being hacked. In fact, Microsoft's operating system requires continuous patches to fix bugs and prevent hacking, requiring the company remotely access and monitor users' computers, yet no one has suggested not using Windows. Green Dam is no different, Chen maintained, and the software developer is working very hard to fix the bugs identified to date. ¶4. (C) Chen said computer makers had been given ample time to evaluate Green Dam. Both Hewlett Packard and Dell were invited in March, 2009 to participate in meetings to TEST the software, he claimed. HP has even signed an agreement attesting to the product's stability, Chen said. Dell, for its part, refused to participate in the meetings and therefore has no right to now claim there isn't enough time to implement this mandate, Chen insisted. ¶5. (C) Computer makers will have a choice in how they can comply with the Green Dam mandate, Chen said. The software can either be pre-installed directly on the hard drive or manufacturers can provide a CD-Rom in the computer's box. Either way, consumers will have the choice of whether or not to install the software. He said computer makers also had the flexibility to provide other internet filtering software to consumers that accomplished the same goal as Green Dam, but stated the Chinese government would only pay for Green Dam. When asked specifically what this flexibility was and what other products could qualify, Chen and other officials present refused to elaborate. Chen later suggested no other existing filtering software meets their requirements. ¶6. (C) Asked about the lack of transparency in the bidding process to develop a filtering software, MIIT Department of BEIJING 00001682 002 OF 002 Policies, Laws and Regulations representative Xu Hua stated the bidding process was open and transparent and fully in compliance with China's Government Procurement law. The results of the bidding were announced on MIIT's website on May 20, 2008, he said. ¶7. (C) After repeatedly asking whether they thought Green Dam violated WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade or Trade-Related Investment Measures, Chen and other officials stated they believed they were not in violation. ¶8. (C) Xu Hua stated the Chinese government has agreed to provide Green Dam free of charge for one year. After one year, the government will evaluate how well Green Dam has performed in blocking inappropriate web content and will decided whether to continue to mandate the software's use. He declined to say whether the government would continue to pay if the mandate is extended, but added that the issue was under consideration and that the government would act responsibly. ¶9. (SBU) The U.S. China Business Council (USCBC) also met June 19 with these same MIIT officials and presented them with a letter signed by numerous organizations representing software and hardware manufacturers from the U.S., Europe, Japan and Korea. USCBC representatives reported they received the same messages from MIIT. ¶10. (C) Comment. Our meeting was lengthy, detailed and, at times, a bit tense. At times, Chen read from a prepared script, and even when speaking freely, did not stray from the party line. Other than acknowledging that pre-installment on the hard drive is not required and that consumers were free not to use the Green Dam software, MIIT gave little indication of flexibility. PICCUTA