[LINK] "Chinese filtering move demonstrates futility of Australian censorship proposal"

[Lea de Groot]

No idea of the source of this website, but:

http://www.inquisitr.com/25545/chinese-filtering-move-demonstrates-futility-of-australian-censorship-proposal/

Chinese filtering move demonstrates futility of Australian censorship  
proposal

The Chinese Government has issued a decree that all computers sold in  
the country must include filtering software from July 1. The software  
will allow the Chinese Government to filter sites it deems  
inappropriate on each PC, including the ability to regularly update  
computers with up-to-date filtering lists.

The need to introduce PC based filtering in China can only be  
interpreted one way: existing ISP level filtering in China is not  
adequately working, despite years of investment in technology and  
support staff.

So if China can’t get ISP level filtering to work, why does the  
Australian Government believe that it’s different?

Australia’s proposed “Great Firewall of Australia” internet censorship  
regime proposes to block thousands, even possibly millions of sites  
(the Minister today still refuses to give a straight answer) using ISP  
level filtering. Unlike China, where the methods to bypass filters  
would be subject to strict censorship, the knowledge and tools needed  
to bypass the Australian version are freely available, and as far as  
we know, are not about to be banned either. Tools is probably the  
wrong way of putting it, because tools imply some level of effort,  
where as bypassing ISP level filtering isn’t anywhere nearly that hard.

Proof that filtering doesn’t work effectively in China is yet another  
reason why the Australian Government must drop its draconian internet  
censorship policy. Who knows: Australia’s Mandarin speaking Prime  
Minister may actually recognize that if his mates in China can’t get  
it right….



We can but hope! :)
(picked up on twitter)

Lea
-- 
Lea de Groot
Brisbane, .au