Chinese internet filter creators receive death threats

BEIJING, June 23 (RIA Novosti) - Chinese software developers that created a government-ordered program to filter internet content on all computers have received death threats, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday.

The head of the software company based in China's Henan Province said the threats started coming in after the government announced that the program - named Green Dam - would be pre-installed on all new computers, the China Daily said.

"Most of the calls came at late night, cursing our staff and uttering obscenities, voicing their resentment against the software," the paper quoted Zhang Chenmin, head of Jinhui Computer System Engineering, as saying. "These calls were from both home and abroad."

On Tuesday, the Chinese government said it would not cancel plans to make the software mandatory for all computers sold from July 1.

Zhang said personal details of some of the program's creators have been released on the Internet, and that the company website has been hit by continual hacker attacks.

"I got a call last night, threatening to kill my child and my wife," he said.

The Chinese government says the software is aimed at protecting children from pornography and violent images. However, critics say the program could be used to block politically sensitive content, and to spy on users.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang has defended the program, saying the government is actively working to ensure "the healthy development in the Internet," while controlling information that is "harmful to society."

The U.S. embassy in Beijing said in a statement on Monday: "The U.S. is concerned about actions that seek to restrict access to the Internet as well as restrictions on the internationally recognized right to freedom of expression."

"The U.S. Government is concerned about Green Dam both in terms of its potential impact on trade and the serious technical issues raised by use of the software. We have asked the Chinese to engage in a dialogue on how to address these concerns."

According to Jinhui Computer System's website, the filter can also be programmed to limit on-line time for minors "infected with Internet addiction," as well as block out key words and images and messenger systems.