Chinese citizens plan 24-hour internet boycott

Chinese surfers are planning a 24-hour boycott of the internet

Internet users in China are planning a day-long boycott in protest against the country's controversial new filtering system.

Protestors are calling on users in China to log off the internet on 1 July to register their disapproval of the Green Dam tool. The Chinese government is mandating that all computers sold in the country be bundled with the software.

While the government and the software company behind Green Dam claim that the tool can be disabled and is intended only to filter out pornographic content, critics have charged that it will allow the state to gain tighter control on user access and more closely monitor their activity.

According to Reuters, the protest is being lead by architect Ai Weiwei, a noted critic of the Chinese government. Ai is said to be organising the boycott as a way for citizens to show their opposition without the risk of government retaliation.

The protest is the latest in what has been an ongoing battle over Green Dam. While human rights groups have criticised the tool as government censorship, the business community has raised fears of legal wrangling and export issues stemming from the software's alleged use of stolen intellectual property.