[LINK] Onus on providers to clean up web content

[Bernard Robertson-Dunn]

Onus on providers to clean up web content
By Lachlan Heywood
December 31, 2007 12:05am
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22989028-421,00.html

Every Australian with an internet connection could soon have their web 
content automatically censored.

The restrictions are planned by the Federal Government to give greater 
protection to children from online pornography and violent websites.

Under the plan, all internet service providers will have to provide a 
"clean" feed to households and schools, free of pornography and other 
"inappropriate" material.

Australians who want uncensored access to the web will have to contact 
their internet service provider and "opt out" of the service.

Online civil libertarians yesterday warned the freedom of the internet 
was at stake, while internet providers were concerned the new measures 
could slow the internet in Australia to a crawl.

They said it was a measure usually associated with oppressive regimes 
and was no alternative to proper parental monitoring.

But Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said everything possible had 
to be done to shield children from violent and pornographic online material.

"We have always argued more needs to be done to protect children," he said.

Senator Conroy said the clean feed, also known as mandatory ISP 
filtering, would prevent users from accessing prohibited content.

"We will work with the industry to get the best policy," he said. "(But) 
Labor is committed to introducing mandatory ISP filtering."

Senator Conroy said the Australian Communications and Media Authority 
would prepare a "blacklist" of unsuitable sites.

It is unclear exactly what will be deemed inappropriate material.

The adoption of mandatory ISP filtering comes on top of the former 
government's offer of free internet filtering software for home computers.

Chairman of internet user group Electronic Frontiers Australia, Dale 
Clapperton, said mandatory filtering eroded freedom and would not 
improve online safety for children.

"China, Burma and Saudi Arabia and those type of oppressive countries 
are the only ones that have seriously looked at doing something like 
this," he said.

"In Australia, which is supposedly a liberal democracy, the Government 
is saying that the internet is so full of this material that it must 
protect us from it by trying to block it."

Mr Clapperton feared that parents would be lulled into a false sense of 
security.

"Parents should not allow their children to use the internet 
unsupervised," he said.

"Stuff that should be blocked will inevitably get through and stuff that 
should not be blocked will not."

Family First senator Steve Fielding, who has campaigned for ISP 
filtering, said he would be watching the Government "like a hawk" on the 
issue.

"Australian families want more (internet protection) and deserve more 
than they are currently getting, and this is a real test for the Rudd 
Government," he said.

A report by the Australia Institute in 2003 showed 84 per cent of boys 
and 60 per cent of girls using the internet had experienced unwanted 
exposure to sexual material.

-- 

Regards
brd

Bernard Robertson-Dunn
Sydney Australia
brd at iimetro.com.au