Chinese city requires Net cafes to use legitimate software

By Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service, 12/03/08

 Start a discussion    Print article

 Comments (1)    Print article

Nanchang, the capital of China's eastern Jiangxi province, has required Internet cafe operators to replace pirated server software with licensed versions. Cafes that don't will lose their license to operate, but some are grumbling about the cost of installing legitimate software.

"What has the world come to, when no leaders will come forward to speak out on behalf of Internet owners like us," wrote one user on a Jiangxi discussion forum (in Chinese).

"When you talk to officials from the Culture Department, they tell you, 'If you're willing to pay, pay; if not, you have the option not to pay.' Hearing words like that turns your heart cold. We really can't make a living," the user said.

Chinese news reports estimated that up to 600 Internet cafes in Nanchang, a city of around 4 million people, are affected by the order, which aims to stamp out the use of pirated software in local Internet cafes. (Read a story about an inside look at censorship in China.)

Despite Western news reports that Nanchang officials aim to stop Internet cafes from using legitimate copies of Windows, the government order for Internet cafes to install legitimate software appears to affect only users running pirated software and suggests Windows as one option for purchasing licensed software.

"We recommend the use of Red Flag Linux server operating system or Microsoft Windows Server operating system," said the directive issued by Nanchang's Cultural Department on Oct. 22. Copies of the order (page 1, page 2 and page 3, [in Chinese]) were posted online by Chinese Internet users.

Officials at Nanchang's Cultural Department could not immediately be reached for comment.

Software piracy is a widespread problem in China. Even when users don't install pirated software themselves, whitebox PC makers and other retailers often preload pirated software instead of legitimate versions on PCs and servers. The Business Software Alliance, a trade group established to fight software piracy, estimated that the rate of software piracy in China was 82% in 2007, the most recent figure available.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.

Featured Whitepapers

About Us | Contact Us | Advertising Info | Terms of Service/Privacy

Copyright, 2006-2007 Network World, Inc. All rights reserved.