Government is the Spy

Jun 15th, 2009 • Posted in: What They're Saying

“This is a very bad thing. It’s like downloading spyware onto your computer, but the government is the spy.”

–Charles Mok, chairman of the Hong Kong chapter of the Internet Society, an international advisory group on Internet standards. Mok was speaking to the New York Times about a new and sweeping directive issued by China, which is requiring “all personal computers sold in the country to include sophisticated software that can filter out pornography and other ‘unhealthy information’ from the Internet.” While the government’s stated target is smut, free-speech advocates note that it also can function as a backdoor into all personal computers, allowing the government to censor information and block anything it wants.

Source: New York Times, June 8.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, June 15 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 24, 2008 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 19, 2007 — Related Newsline story, July 24, 2006 — Related Newsline story, June 12, 2006.

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