Australia set to become net censor
p2pnet news view P2P | Politics:- Australia is starting to look seriously like a police state where citizens will be able to see only what the government wants them to see.
Australia will introduce a censor-system “just before next year’s election” says The Age.
A blacklist of “refused classification” sites will be compiled “using a public complaints mechanism, Government censors and web addresses provided by international agencies,” it says, going on:
“A seven month trial in conjunction with internet service providers found the technology behind the filter to be 100% effective.”
Fifteen other Western democratic nations have, or are preparing, to implement ISP ‘filters,” says the Australian.
Denmark, Belgium, Finland, Italy, Germany and The Netherlands have blacklists which contain child abuse material.
However, their filters are voluntary, “while Australia’s is mandatory,” says the story.
“A version of the Government’s list of banned sites was leaked on to the web in March, revealing that the scope of the filtering could extend significantly beyond child porn,” says the Age, continuing >>>
About half were not related to child porn and included links to poker sites, YouTube, gay and straight porn sites, Wikipedia, euthanasia sites, fringe religions, fetish sites, Christian sites, a tour operator and a Queensland dentist.
”Given the pilot’s modest goals, it was designed from the beginning to pass,” said Electronic Frontiers Australia spokesman Colin Jacobs.
”Although it may address some technical issues, what it leaves out is far more important – exactly what will be blocked, who will decide, and why is it being attempted in the first place?”
The pilot trial report “noted that people could circumvent any internet filters with ease,” it adds.
Stay tuned.
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The Age – Big Brother laws to be brought in for web, December 16, 2009
Australian – Attempt to censor child porn, violence against woman, bestiality and other offensive material on internet, December 15, 2009
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December 15th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
feels kinda like a nightmare in manifestation
December 16th, 2009 at 2:41 am
Too bad Australians don’t have the right to bear arms…
December 16th, 2009 at 10:21 am
“Too bad Australians don’t have the right to bear arms…”
What a strange law!
You’d think that once you’ve shot the bear, you’d have the right to any part of it.
December 16th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
In the UK we already have a system like this, developed by British Telecom, called BT Cleanfeed. All the major ISP’s bar AOL UK now implement it. However at the moment it only blocks sites from the IWF list (almost all child porn and extreme porn that is illegal in the UK), but like the Australian system it can be abused. However, just like the Australian system it can be easily circumvented by proxies or encrypted connections. Extreme pornography however is the source of some dispute, in the UK this includes beastiality and would you believe, spanking. Any sexual act which does, or has the potential to leave a mark on another, even if both parties consent, is now illegal in the UK. Except for anal for some reason, go figure!.