MIIT: Internet filtering software does not monitor netizens, not mandatory installation

From July 1, computers produced and sold within China will pre-install an Internet filtering software named "Green Dam - Youth Escort" (hereinafter referred to as "Green Dam" software) before they leave the factory. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said that this move was to "avoid the influence and harm of Internet bad information on teenagers". According to MIIT's Notice on Pre-installing Green Internet Filtering Software on Computers, the "Green Dam" software will be pre-installed in the hard disk or random CD-ROM of the computer, and will be available as a backup file in the recovery partition and recovery CD-ROM. The latest applicable version of the software must also be pre-installed in imported computers before they are sold domestically.