Michael Atkinson explains R18+ game block, not the only A-G opposed
In an exclusive letter to GameSpot UK explaining why he won’t permit R18+ games, SA A-G Michael Atkinson claims he is not the only Australian censorship minister opposed to introducing an adults only classification: I don’t support the introduction of an R18+ rating for electronic games, chiefly because it will greatly increase the risk of...
Mark Newton debates Jim Wallace, Radio National, 28 January
Mark Newton will be on ABC Radio National Thursday morning at 09:05 EST to spar with the director of the Australian Christian Lobby Jim Wallace over Australia’s net censorship plan. For those who haven’t seen Wallace’s factually-limp opinion piece on filtering from earlier this week I suggest you check it out before listening. My response...
Netspace survey finds nearly 80% of customers disagree with mandatory ISP filtering
A survey on mandatory ISP filtering conducted by one of Australia’s major ISPs, Netspace, has received responses from nearly 10,000 customers. Asked whether they agree with the Federal Government’s policy to make ISP level filtering mandatory for all Australians, 61% of respondents strongly disagreed, with only 6.3% strongly agreeing. Over 70% of respondents also strongly...
Trial to commence soon, 16 applicants
Briefly: Fran Foo from Australian IT reports that the starting date for the Government’s live mandatory ISP filtering trial is imminent and that 16 ISPs are in the final round of the selection process. She writes: One issue understood to be stalling the process is that service providers have been negotiating for extra funding. A...
Questions on Notice: Conroy’s answers to Ludlam in full
Senator Conroy’s responses to Senator Scott Ludlam’s Questions On Notice regarding mandatory filtering are now available to read in full. Previously some answers were missing from Question No. 833. You can download the PDFs below. – Question No. 0831 – Question No. 0832 – Question No. 0833 – Question No. 0834 Hat tip to Roo....
Jim Wallace wants you to believe filtering will work
Managing Director of the Australian Christian Lobby, Jim Wallace, abandoned his mainstay argument of Christian morals when he wrote his SMH opinion piece about mandatory ISP filtering, preferring instead to tackle the Government’s net censorship plan primarily from a technical standpoint. The equivalent of a five year old offering advice on how to build a...
Porn and vulgar content threaten physical health of youth: China
If the Chinese government’s claim that Internet pornography and vulgar content seriously threaten the mental and physical health of youth is true, then perhaps looking at too much porn really will turn you blind? I’m no doctor so I’ll refrain from further speculation on the physical effects, but reports are in that the Chinese government...
Senator Simon Birmingham firmly against compulsory filtering
South Australian Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham has described Kevin Rudd’s filtering policy as an ill-considered and dangerous policy with the potential to inflict serious harm on a variety of levels. In a letter to a Whirlpool member, Birmingham says Labor’s compulsory filtering would potentially dramatically slow internet access at a time when Australia needs faster internet access and risks...
Mark Newton’s filtering form letter a handy research tool
Anyone who sent a letter of concern to Labor Senators and MPs about mandatory ISP filtering will likely have received the same standard form reply sent nation wide. That takes no effort and it means the Government still fail to address countless relevent and important questions about the plan over a year into its implementation....
Nick Minchin’s opinion piece on filtering
Shadow Comms Minister Nick Minchin has a well-crafted opinion piece about Rudd’s filter plan in SMH today. Minchin writes: There is no technological substitute for adult supervision and it’s irresponsible and misleading to infer otherwise. Mandating a so-called “clean feed” has the potential to create a dangerous false sense of security, leading parents to believe...
ACMA declares anti-abortion site ‘prohibited content’
Update – Friday 13 March, 2009: ACMA forces Whirlpool to remove link to banned anti-abortion web page. In response to a complaint about an anti-abortion web page showing photographs of what appears to be aborted fetuses, ACMA has declared the page ‘prohibited or potential prohibited content’. The Whirlpool member who made the complaint, presumably to...
Filtering and online safety reports: Brooklyn Law School and Harvard
Two reports worth reading: 1) ‘Filtering in Oz: Australia’s Foray Into Internet Censorship‘ by Derek Bambauer at the Brooklyn Law School in New York argues Australia represents a shift by Western democracies towards legitimating Internet filtering and away from robust consideration of the alternatives available to combat undesirable information. Bambauer writes: Australia’s decision to censor...
