China's New Rules Ban Unlicensed Email Servers, Impose More Email Censorship

[mandy]

China has introduced regulations that make it illegal to run an email server without a licence. The new rules, which came into force two weeks ago, mean that most companies running their own email servers in China are now breaking the law.

More than 600,000 servers were sold in China last year, according to market researchers. It's unclear how many of these are running mail server software, which includes programs like Microsoft Outlook Server, Sendmail, Qmail or Lotus Notes.

The new email licensing clause is just a small part of a new anti-spam law...

China's new rules also prohibit use of email to discuss certain vaguely defined subjects related to 'network security' and ' information security', and also reiterate that emails which contain content contrary to existing laws must not be copied or forwarded. Wide-ranging laws of this nature have been used against political and religous dissenters in the past....

full article: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/215406...ws-outlook

[jezebel]

Every server running sendmail needs a license? Unfuckingreal.