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WTO should deal with China's 'firewall': VP of EU Commission
By siliconindia
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Monday, 17 May 2010, 20:09 IST
Shanghai: Since China's censorship of Internet sites, known as the "Great Firewall of China", is a barrier to trade, it should be dealt with by the World Trade Organization within its framework said Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission, to reporters on Monday.
According to Kroes, the firewall was a trade barrier because it blocked communication for Internet users, preventing the free flow of information.
Kroes spoke to reporters at the China headquarters of Tudou, a video-sharing company. Tudou is a rival of YouTube, the popular video-sharing platform of Google, blocked in China.
According to Chinese law, any objectionable content, ranging from pornography to politics, has to be blocked by the Internet companies. Social networking websites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Flickr are all blocked in China.
With over 400 million Internet users, the Internet can be an influential public forum in China. According to Kroes, it is very significant that companies like Tudou are showing that in tackling censorship, the younger generation is playing an active role.
