ACMA blacklists Iran protest video
Chris from Orzeszek Blog has revealed that ACMA has blacklisted three videos documenting violence in Iran which show the death of Neda Agha-Soltan, killed during the 2009 Iranian election protests. Today Chris received notice from ACMA that the content has been classified R18+. Because it was not behind a restricted access system, it is prohibited...
Googling sex: Adventures in tabloid journalism online
by Geordie Guy Today’s Online Opinion features Abigail Bray, a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Western Australia. Her article, available at http://onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=9344, unfortunately doesn’t seem to draw on what we’d assume is a depth of experience and qualification. She writes how a “couple of weeks ago”, which I’ll presume is some sort of...
Raunchy music videos to stay: Parents outraged at prospect of having to supervise children
Some Australian parents and children organisations are outraged that the government will not implement tighter classification laws for ‘raunchy’ music videos. According to the government, there ‘was a ‘low level’ of community concern about music videos’. They also said they had no power over the Advertising Standards Board, presumably in response to calls for stricter...
Hustler among latest adult movie bans
A bonus DVD attached to a Hustler magazine is just one of many recent adult films banned by Australian Classification Board. Here’s the most recent titles to be given the ACB black label treatment: HUSTLER’S TABOO MAGAZINE BONUS MAGAZINE DVD – DVD RC 07/08/2009 (Applicant: ACT Office of Regulatory Services) PEEING IN PUBLIC #2 –...
Risen is the third game to be banned in 2009
Refused-Classification.com reports that Koch Media’s medieval role-playing game Risen has been Refused Classification by the Australian Classification Board, making it the third game to banned in 2009. It was due for release October 2nd. According to the Wikipedia entry, the game centres around a protagonist shipwrecked after a storm on Faranga, an island home to...
Filtering Wrap Up: Of Swallows and Silver Bullets
by Sean Wright Senator Conroy has again fired off another of the ‘no silver bullet’ lines in relation to ISP filtering – a phrase so prevalent that should a pack of werewolves cross over ‘a bridge too far’ and wander down a ‘fork in the road’ our kiddies will be well protected. Then again maybe...
Filters have limited if any success: NSW Director of Public Prosecutions
According to IT Wire, New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions, Nicholas Cowdery, told the 2009 eCrime Symposium in Sydney on Tuesday that ‘…filters and blocking mechanisms, ultimately in a society like ours, would have only limited if any success.’ IT Wire reports that Cowdery thinks the Federal Government’s ISP-level internet filtering plan is impractical...
Library filtering: A Librarian’s perspective
by Brisbane IT Librarian, Kath Read. Recently the Brisbane Times published this article with reference to an incident at Maroochydore Library where a parent complained about another customer accessing pornography on the public internet terminals in the library. Strangely enough this is a common issue for libraries and other public internet providers, both free and paid. I...
