[LINK] Local ISPs confront content regulation codes

[Chirgwin, Richard]

Howard, the ACCC needs a complaint to launch an investigation. Feel free,
this looks like price-fixing to an outsider. 

Actually, it looks pretty grubby: 

The government doesn't want a consumer backlash against filtering, so its
position is that filtering should not be a profitable exercise for the ISP.

The IIA wants to keep the doors open in Canberra, because everbody likes to
hobnob with bigwigs, so it plays along.

The filtering software industry still gets to make its profits.

ISPs who are large enough to have serious "reach" will still get their
co-operative marketing funds from the vendors, so cost-recovery regimes
don't hurt them as much as they hurt small ISPs.

And the IIA gets to paint it as a win for consumers (which it's not, because
the co-op funds are built into the vendor's price).

Depressing.
Richard C

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Howard Lowndes [mailto:lannet@lannet.com.au]
> Sent: Monday, 18 March 2002 21:55
> Cc: Mail List - LINK
> Subject: Re: [LINK] Local ISPs confront content regulation codes
> 
> 
> Two points.
> 
> Why does 10% of the ISP industry think that it can dictate 
> the business
> pratices of the other 90%.
> 
> Why does the ACCC allow this.  To my mind this is collusion.
> 
> On Mon, 18 Mar 2002, Tony Barry wrote:
> 
> > Extracted item provided for information.
> >
> > Source: ZDNet Australia Daily Update -- Monday March 18, 2002.
> > - - - - -
> > 4. Local ISPs confront content regulation codes
> > The Internet Industry Association's (IIA) is asking its 
> members to commit
> > to a revised version of the industry's online content 
> regulation code that
> > will remove their discretion to set prices for content 
> filtering software.
> > http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?173235
> >
> 
> -- 
> Howard.
> LANNet Computing Associates - Your Linux people
> Contact detail at http://www.lannetlinux.com
>  "I believe that forgiving them [terrorists] is God's function.
>  Our job is simply to arrange the meeting."
>    - General "Storm'n" Norman Schwartzkopf
>