China Scraps Web Filter Software Mandate—for Now

China is postponing enforcement of a new rule mandating that all new computers be sold with filtering software. The rule was to go into effect tomorrow, but the official Xinhua News Agency said in a brief report today that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology had decided to delay the plan. It did not say why or give any other details.

Authorities say the "Green Dam Youth Escort" filters are needed to shield children from online violence and pornography, but analysts who have examined the system say it also contains code to filter out political material the government dislikes. (More China stories.)