Green light for internet filter plans (1 Viewer)

[Rasengan2dabalz]

The Federal Government will introduce compulsory internet filtering to block overseas sites which contain criminal content, including child sex abuse and sexual violence.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy announced the changes today following a controversial trial to filter the internet which was conducted earlier this year.

Senator Conroy says some internet content is simply not suitable in a civilised society.

"It is important that all Australians, particularly young children, are protected from this material," he said.

"The Government believes that parents want assistance to reduce the risk of children being exposed to such material."

He says the Government will not determine what is blacklisted on the internet in Australia, rather an independent body will determine what sites are rated as RC for refused classification.

Legislation will be introduced into Parliament next year which will require all ISPs to block material which has been refused classification in other countries.

This would include sites containing child sex abuse, bestiality, sexual violence or detailed information about how to use drugs or commit crimes.

The filtering trial attracted criticism from some who said it would not work and would slow internet speeds.

But Senator Conroy says the trial has been successful.

"Our pilot, and the experience of ISPs in many western democracies, shows that ISP level-filtering of a defined list of URLs can be delivered with 100 per cent accuracy," he said.

"It also demonstrated that it can be done with negligible impact on internet speed."

Grants will also be offered to ISPs to voluntarily block other content.

After the legislation is passed the filter will take 12 months to implement.

Senator Conroy says the Government will take steps to ensure the filter is transparent and people know why material is being blocked.

This may include measures which allow people to appeal the decision to block a page and notifications to websites that they have been blocked.

The Government has been trialling the filter since late May and was due to report in July on the outcomes of the trial.

It has faced fierce criticism that it will strangle free speech on the internet, is open to potential government abuse and will ban sites that should not be coming under scrutiny.

In March, an alleged list of about 1,000 sites already banned by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) was leaked online, revealing that harmless sites had also been marked as unacceptable.

Nine ISPs originally agreed to take part but iiNet pulled out of the trial in March, saying the filter would not work and was a dead parrot.

However, Optus joined the trial in April.

In May 2008, the Government said it would spend $125.8 million over four years on several measures to strengthen cyber safety, including the filter.

The Government maintains the filter is not designed to curtail freedom of speech.

Fuuuuuu

Source: Green light for internet filter plans - Yahoo!7 News

 

[Serius]

The Government maintains the filter is not designed to curtail freedom of speech.

how the fuck can they say that with a straight face when so much of it seems for exactly this purpose? for instance they seem hellbent on blocking pro annorexia forums...why? its probably not helpful for annorexics but i think everyone should have a right to discuss ANYTHING in an open and public forum, why should it be illegal to hold pro annorexic views?

Thats just one example btw, theres dozens more, including fetish sites, gaming sites, heaps of stuff.

 

[A High Way Man]

I am confident that by the end of this disgraceful saga we will have a Bill of Rights

 

[Absolutezero]

Senator Conroy says some internet content is simply not suitable in a civilised society.

Ridiculous. How can things be solved if they cannot be discussed?

In addition, how is the world to progress, if things are limited?

 

[SylviaB]

I am confident that by the of this disgraceful saga we will have a Bill of Rights

no fucking way

we're going so far in the opposite direction it's not funny

 

[A High Way Man]

no doubt the imminent shoddy implementation of this scheme will have political repercussions. time for the libertarians to have a go ^_^

 

[Venetiad]

Hopefully this "independent body" (hurr hurr) will not be as retarded as the last Blacklist that was leaked. If this independent body bans Child Porn affiliated websites etc, then all is good. But thats about it.

 

[Rasengan2dabalz]

When (if) this filter kicks in, it will be a sad sad day. Cant believe the government is even considering this.

 

[JonathanM]

http://community.boredofstudies.org...ternet-censorship-scheme-now.html#post4756589

Tipped it xD

 

[spartan31234]

The filter is going to be leaked like it was leaked before....

So the government has basically done searches for all the paedophiles. How are they going to block all the proxy sites?

The government will be screwed....

even china's fire wall can be breached, this is waste of time, its more likely it will help the people that it was intended to stop.

 

[Abbiesaurus]

Bah when they implement the filter the internet is going to be slowed down. Some sites are going to be blocked that shouldn't even be blocked. ISP'S will also be able to optionally block sites that they choose on top of the nationwide block list. That means that sites that sell R rated games can be blocked. What the hell Australia...no R rated games and now this grrrrr.
Also what a waste of money, its costing the government millions to implement these filters. Yeah there are ways around it but its effort which shouldn't be necessary. Also its going to slow down the net and you cant get around that.