Investigations into China’s new anti-pornography software “Green Dam-Youth Escort,” which is to be bundled with all personal computers sold in the country, reveal that it blocks more than just porn. The new software also censors Web sites with controversial political keywords related to the Tiananmen Square military crackdown and the banned spiritual group Falun Gong.

It also makes computers vulnerable to attack and parts of its code appear to have been stolen, researchers found.

New York Times:

“Their goal is to limit the access of information, not just pornography,” said Li Fangping, a rights lawyer in Beijing who is challenging the government directive. “I feel like as a citizen, my right to know has been violated.”

Software engineers who have examined Green Dam in recent days say it is designed to do more than filter out adult content. Deep inside the program, they say, are data files with the sorts of search terms and key words the authorities use to block certain topics, including Falun Gong, the banned spiritual movement, and the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.

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