[LINK] More opposition to the filter

[Jan Whitaker]

New hurdle for net censorship

http://www.theage.com.au/news/home/technology/new-hurdle-for-net-censorship/2008/12/12/1228585100603.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
Asher Moses
December 12, 2008 - 3:09PM

The ultra-conservative politician known for his attempts to censor 
television has strongly opposed the Government's plans to introduce 
mandatory internet censorship, highlighting the policy's lack of 
support across the political spectrum.

The proposed filters would not have blocked any of the 15,000 child 
porn videos and half a million child abuse images uncovered by police 
in a major sting this week as they cannot filter traffic on 
peer-to-peer networks - only websites.

In a post on his blog, South Australian Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi 
expressed concern that the filters would inadvertently block 
legitimate content and be expanded to cover other controversial 
material opposed by the Government of the day, such as regular pornography.

"Already we have a filter on the internet for all parliament house 
computers. It blocks some political sites, alternative lifestyle 
sites and other sites that, while not to my personal taste, are 
hardly grounds for censorship," he wrote.

"Imagine if such censorship was extended to every computer in the 
country through mandatory ISP filtering. Who would be the ultimate 
arbiter of what is permissible content?"

Bernardi, who tried to censor Gordon Ramsay by calling for a Senate 
inquiry into swearing on television in March, is known for his 
conservative views.

The pro-life Senator has questioned whether global warming is caused 
by human activities, has opposed therapeutic cloning of human embryos 
and protested against proposed laws prescribing equal treatment of 
same-sex relationships.

In his blog post, Bernardi acknowledged that his position on the web 
censorship issue would "surprise many" and said "a big part of me 
wants to support it". However, Communications Minister Stephen 
Conroy's plan was "so devoid of detail" that it was impossible to 
form a considered opinion.

Senator Conroy has consistently dodged questions in Parliament about 
the scheme, particularly surrounding the specific types of content 
that the Government wants to block.

The Opposition, Greens and even NSW Young Labor have opposed the 
scheme, which will make it difficult for the Rudd Government to pass 
the required legislation.

The individuals who hold the balance of power in the Senate, the 
independent Nick Xenophon and Family First's Steve Fielding, have 
said they would want online gambling sites and hardcore pornography 
blocked by the filters, respectively.

"Parental responsibility cannot and should not be abrogated to 
government - if it is, our society will only become weaker," Senator 
Bernardi said.

"Yes, illegal content should be banned from the web ... but it is 
wrong to give the government a blank cheque to determine what is 
appropriate for us to view on the internet."

The deadline has passed for ISPs to sign up to conduct live trials of 
the internet filtering scheme, some of which are scheduled to begin 
before Christmas. However, Senator Conroy has refused to release a 
list of ISPs that applied.

Telstra and Internode have both said they will not take part, while 
iiNet said it will run a trial purely to show the Government the 
proposed scheme won't work and Optus's trial will be scaled back to 
encompass filtering only of a set blacklist of 1300 sites.

The Government's policy includes the mandatory censorship of 
"illegal" content as determined by a blacklist of up to 10,000 sites, 
which will be held by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

The second tier, which will be optional, will seek to block 
"unwanted" content that is inappropriate for children.

No ISP has announced plans to trial the second tier, which is more 
draconian and technically difficult as it would involve analysing 
every piece of content handled by the network.

Internet experts say the real-time analysis of content will 
dramatically slow network speeds, while some child welfare groups 
have expressed concerns that the internet filters could be easily 
circumvented, creating a false sense of security.

Lab tests released by ACMA in June found available ISP filters 
frequently let through content that should be blocked, incorrectly 
blocked harmless content and slowed down network speeds by up to 87 per cent.

Recent tests of software-based internet filters by consumer advocacy 
group Choice found they were more than capable of blocking offensive 
material, which raised questions around the need for mandatory 
ISP-level filters.

The previous government provided client-level software filters for 
free via netalert.gov.au, however, Senator Conroy has said the 
NetAlert scheme will be shut down by the new year.



Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com
personal: http://www.janwhitaker.com/personal/
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/

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~Madeline L'Engle, writer

Writing Lesson #54:
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