After facing loads of criticism at home and abroad, China is delaying a rule on the mandatory installation of anti-porn and anti-violence software on all new computers sold. Many have found problems with the software, claiming it blocks sensitive political sites and opens computers to government surveillance and hackers.

The New York Times:

Facing strong resistance at home and abroad, China on Tuesday indefinitely delayed enforcement of a new rule requiring manufacturers to pre-install Internet filtering software on all new computers.

The software, called the Green Dam-Youth Escort, had caused a torrent of protests from both Chinese computer users and global computer makers, including many in the United States, since the government order became public in early June.

The delay by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, announced via Xinhua, the official news agency, came just one day before the July 1 deadline for the software to be installed on all computers sold in China.

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