[LINK] Law proposed against uploading violent images

[Kim Holburn]

http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/law-proposed-against-uploading-violent--images-on-the-internet-20110316-1bwye.html

> Law proposed against uploading violent images on the internet
> 
> March 16, 2011 - 3:26PM
> The South Australian government wants to make it an offence to post violent or other degrading images on the internet.
> 
> Attorney-General John Rau said the state's proposed legislation, to be introduced this year, would be the first of its kind in Australia.
> 
> It will make it an offence to knowingly take or publish humiliating, demeaning or degrading images of another person without their consent.
> 
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> Mr Rau said it was designed to tackle thugs who filmed assaults and then posted them on the internet.
> 
> The move follows the appearance of a viral video on YouTube showing a student in an Australian school playground tormenting another boy and then being picked up and violently thrown on the ground by the victim.
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> "The government wants to attack this disgusting fad of thugs engineering and filming violent and humiliating acts and posting the images to websites," Mr Rau said today.
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> "This behaviour is so disturbing and potentially damaging to the victims that I believe the creators of these images should be subject to severe penalties, including jail sentences.
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> "The government wants to make it very clear that if a person participates in any way in an act of this sort, then the consequences will be severe."
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> Mr Rau said the onus would be on the person charged to prove that they had a legitimate purpose for capturing the images, other than humiliating, degrading or demeaning the victim.
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> The proposed laws would cover anyone involved in the process of deliberately filming and publishing the images.
> 
> "For example, if you knowingly allow someone to use your computer or phone to upload the images, you could be covered by the laws," Mr Rau said.
> 
> "If you knowingly participate in someone's humiliation while someone else films it, you could also find yourself charged with a serious offence."
> 
> But opposition justice spokesman Stephen Wade said the government's proposals lacked detail.
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> "We have no indication of how this initiative will be policed or how we can avoid people being unfairly caught by the legislation," Mr Wade said.


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Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
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