China doesn’t only have the largest population on earth, but also the largest population online. With an estimated 300 million online users, its no surprise what China is trying to implement next. Starting from July 1, all personal computers sold will have a software called Green Dam Youth Escort that will prohibit the youth from logging on to pornographic sites. Although this is said to target the youth, many people are suggesting that this is to stop people from people from China logging into politically harmful website which they have done in the past. The US has been very vocal about this move by China. Ed Black, the president of US Computers and Communications Industry Association even considers this as escalation of attempts to limit the access and freedom that comes with the internet. Coming from Microsoft themselves, the leading provider of software programs most computers in the world run on say that they consider this step as an act against freedom of expression, privacy and security. Bryan Zhang, the co developer of this software clearly states that there is no need for all this attention as the said software is not mandatory. You can even download it online and remove it from your hard drive just like any other software. Even with this message from the creator himself, the Chinese are still very apprehensive as it is said that this software will be able to transmit personal information, crash computers and make them vulnerable to hackers. Because of this, people have now referred to this situation as the Great Fire Wall of China. Funny yet ironic, 81 percent of Chinese people feel more threatened than safe by installing this application while 72 percent think that this would be ineffective in preventing the youth from logging on to pornographic sites. With whatever the Chinese have in mind, just be aware and vigilant of all the programs you load in your computer to be assured that all your personal information are kept safe.
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