Ok, So calling Senator Stephen Conroy the other Satan may be a little melodramatic. But the Senators plans to implement mandatory ISP-level filtering for materials rated RC (or Refused Classification) is not only completely ridiculous, but it wont work.
The proposed internet filter will block a list of somewhere between 1000, 2000 and 10,00 URLS, a number which seems to change every 5 press releases. The list will be maintained and administered by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). The blacklist is said to target sites which feature child pornography, bestiality, instructions on crime and other materials illegal in nature.
However, a copy of the top-secret blacklist which was leaked in 2008 by wikileaks.org shows a number of youtube links, regular pornography, wikipedia links, content on euthanasia, religious sites and a number of online poker sites including one this blogger has had a string of bad luck on (now how will I win my money back!). The blacklist also includes links to a Brisbane dentist and a tourism site.
What is more worrisome than the blatently legal sites on the blacklist is the Governments insistence on ignoring condemnation and warnings of failure from a number of high level organisations including iinet, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, and even the Obama Administration.
One source (with very negligble reliability...) even stated that the United States government has already imposed sanctions by suspending the AU-US Free trade agreement, and phasing out the E3 Visa scheme. In an online poll the Sydney Morning Herald reported a phenomenal 96% against internet filtering.
Additionally, the filter will do nothing to stop the spread of illegal content through p2p software. The internet is far to lucid to be censored like this and this filter does nothing but gives the Government legal options to filter sites they deem unwanted. Not to mention reports of the filter being easily bypassed.
Anyway, I'm not a journalist or a writer (Obviously!) but this issue concerns me deeply. What's more is this issue has remained largely untouched by government spokespersons but has recieved loud discussion online, why aren't they listening? Hopefully, we will see discussion of this move into the popular media and force responses from the Government.
This issue has given me a headache and I don't want to write anymore.
Please, comment, voice your opinion, and get active.
http://filter-conroy.org/
http://nocleanfeed.com/
http://openinternet.com.au/
Saturday, June 5, 2010
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