Circular Regarding the Pre-Installation of Green Browsing Filter Software on Computers (CECC Full Translation)

July 2, 2009

On May 19, 2009, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued the Circular Regarding the Pre-Installation of Green Browsing Filter Software on Computers, which requires that computers sold within China after July 1 must come "pre-installed" (yu zhuang) with the government-approved "Green Dam-Youth Escort" Internet browsing filtering software. Testing by outside sources has found that the software filters pornography, but it also filters specific political and religious content. Chinese citizens and media have criticized the requirement as exceeding the scope necessary to achieve the Circular's stated purpose (the protection of minors). They have raised concerns about privacy and who would determine what content is to be filtered by the software, and argued that the choice to install should be an individual one. In addition, questions have been raised both in China and outside of China as to whether the Circular is consistent with China's commercial rule of law reforms, and whether it complies with international norms related to freedom of expression and international trade. The following is a translation of the Circular prepared by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. The Chinese text was retrieved from the MIIT Web site on June 9, 2009.


Circular Regarding the Pre-Installation of Green Browsing Filter Software on Computers To Relevant Work Units: In order to establish a green,1 healthy, and harmonious online environment, and to avoid harmful information on the Internet influencing and poisoning young people, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the General Office of the Central Guidance Committee on Ethical and Cultural Construction,2 and the Ministry of Finance, in accordance with the relevant requirements of the Government Procurement Law, have utilized central authority financial funds to purchase one-year usage rights and services for the "Green Dam-Youth Escort" green online filtering software (hereinafter referred to as "'Green Dam-Youth Escort' software"), which is to be supplied to the society as a whole for use free of charge. Through comprehensive testing and application in pilot settings, this software product has been shown to filter harmful words and images on the Internet effectively, and already has satisfied requirements for pre-installation by computer manufacturers. To consolidate further the gains of the Special Operation to Rectify the Trend of Vulgarity on the Internet,3 continue to combine punishment and prevention, protect the healthy growth of minors, and promote the healthy and orderly development of the Internet, in accordance with the overall scheme of the Nationwide Special Operation to Rectify the Trend of Vulgarity on the Internet, provided herewith is notification of the specific requirements for the pre-installation of green online filtering software in computers, as follows:

  1. Computers manufactured and sold domestically should have the newest version of the "Green Dam-Youth Escort" software pre-installed when leaving the factory. Imported computers should have the newest version of the "Green Dam-Youth Escort" software pre-installed before being sold domestically.
  2. The "Green Dam-Youth Escort" software should be pre-installed on the computer's hard drive or on a CD that accompanies the computer. It also should be included in the recovery partition and on the system restore CD as a backup file.
  3. Suppliers of the "Green Dam-Youth Escort" software should take steps proactively to support the computer manufacturing industry in launching the pre-installation.
  4. The computer manufacturing and sales industries should complete pre-installation tests of the "Green Dam-Youth Escort" software and other related work by the end of June 2009. Computers leaving the factory and sold after July 1, 2009, should have the "Green Dam-Youth Escort" software pre-installed.
  5. In 2009, computer manufacturers and suppliers of the "Green Dam-Youth Escort" software every month should file a report with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Software Service Industry Department showing the numbers of computers sold and filtering software pre-installed in the previous month, along with any suggestions. Beginning in 2010, the previous year's numbers should be reported before the end of February each year.

For those that fail to pre-install by the deadline, fail to report on schedule, send false reports, or refuse to report, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will order the filing of a supplementary report or corrections within a specific time period. May 19, 2009 1 CECC Note: According to a June 8, 2009, Wall Street Journal article, the Chinese word for "green" in this context refers to an Internet free of "pornography and other illicit content." 2 CECC Note: This is an entity of the Communist Party in China. 3 CECC Note: According to a January 5, 2009, China Internet Information Center (China.com) article, the State Council Information Office, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Culture, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television, and General Administration on Press and Publication, launched the Special Operation to Rectify the Trend of Vulgarity on the Internet on January 5, 2009.