[LINK] Onus on providers to clean up web content
Bernard Robertson-Dunn
brd at iimetro.com.au
Mon Dec 31 17:25:08 AEDT 2007
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
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