[LINK] Big Bro Stephen Is Watching

[Jan Whitaker]

[I wonder if they will 'listen' if they 'read'. 
So far the criticism doesn't seem to have done 
much good re the filtering project. Or is this a 
way to put black marks against those who are 
critical? Will we end up in ASIO's bad books? 
BTW, have any linkers applied to ASIO for their file?]


Critical blogs to be tracked

http://www.theage.com.au/news/technology/critical-blogs-to-be-tracked/2009/03/21/1237526391004.html
Josh Gordon
March 22, 2009

The Federal Government will begin trawling blog 
sites as part of a new media monitoring strategy, 
with official documents singling out a website 
critical of the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy.

Tender documents issued by the Department of 
Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy 
reveal it is looking for a "monitoring service 
for print and electronic media". The department 
later attached a clarification confirming this 
included "blogs such as Whirlpool".

Whirlpool has strongly criticised Senator 
Conroy's plan to filter internet content and his 
handling of the Government's $15 billion national 
broadband network. It is a community-run forum 
devoted to discussing broadband internet access.

Senator Conroy's spokesman said: "Whirlpool 
 
covers a wide range of topics across the 
telecommunications sector. It and other web sites 
provide valuable insight into the industries in which we work."

Opposition communications spokesman Nick Minchin 
claimed it was "extreme" to expand media monitoring activities to blogs.

"Blogs such as Whirlpool provide an open forum 
 
and do play an important role in our democracy. 
Moves to monitor this space seem an unacceptable 
use of taxpayers' money," he said.



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

Our truest response to the irrationality of the 
world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer

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