Underbelly causes outrage, not to be shown in Victoria
News.com.au says Channel Nine’s new show Underbelly has a “violent bashing, a sex scene, liberal use of the “F” word and a graphic shooting in cold blood – and that’s the first 20 minutes.” Naturally, family groups like the AFA (the same people who said a stage play that depicted Jesus as gay man was...
Tuesday is International Safer Internet Day
Australian school children will today participate in International Safer Internet Day, a campaign aimed at educating kids about cybersafety. ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman is coordinating the Aussie part of the event: ?Safer Internet Day is a fun and effective way to raise awareness of issues affecting children online? he said. ‘Cybersafety education is critical in...
ReviewPorn.com blocks access to Australian users
Adult Paysite reviewer, ReviewPorn.com, has restricted access to users visiting their site from within Australia. Their webpage states: Due to new Australian Laws this website cannot be viewed. Review Porn is likely referring to the 2007 Restricted Access Systems Declaration, but its main reach extends only to content hosted in Australia. Review Porn is hosted...
Senator Conroy to be interviewed on ABC this Sunday
Senator Conroy will be interviewed by finance journo Alan Kohler on the ABC’s Inside Business program this Sunday (10/02/2008) . It’s unlikely mandatory filtering will get much attention (if any), but it’ll be worth checking out just to hear Mr Conroy’s other plans for broadband and tech in this country. Inside Business is broadcast on...
Kylie video pulled, may trigger seizures
The music clip for Kylie Minogue’s new track Wow has been yanked before it could air by UK communications regulator Ofcom. Not because Kylie’s strutting around in gold short shorts or flashing side-boobie (this time around she’s covered head to toe in a secondhand space suit). It’s because the Wow video does not stick to...
Thirteen complaints enough to warrant withdrawal of Ryanair ‘Schoolgirl’ ad
Just thirteen complaints from newspaper readers who found a Ryanair ad offensive was enough for Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority to demand the budget airline cease using the ad. The ad features an adult dressed as a schoolgirl with the headline Hottest Back To School Fares. Offensive? C’mon, a trip to the mall and your likely...
Will GTA IV be uncut in AU?
Grand Theft Auto IV will be released worldwide on April 29, but it’s unknown if Rockstar/Take 2 had to tone down the Aussie version of the game to appease Australian censors. This addition to the series is classified as MA15+ for its strong violence, strong coarse language, and drug and sexual references. The OFLC banned...
Deakin Uni facial scanning technology aims to stop kids looking at porn
Melbourne?s Deakin University is developing facial scanning hardware that could provide an immediate estimation of a computer user’s age by examining facial features. The researchers told News Ltd: Automatic estimations of someone?s age could be used in software to stop young internet users accessing pornography, to provide an alternative to fingerprint scanning and help police...
China’s net censorship: 44,000 sites gone
Xinhua news agency revealed Wednesday that China shut down 44,000 web sites in 2007 as part their campaign to clean up the Internet. Authorities also arrested nearly 900 people as a result. AFP says: Another 1,911 people have received unspecified “penalties”, the Xinhua news agency said, citing a statement from a Communist Party meeting. DailyTech...
MIPI wants Internet cafe owners to monitor customer activity
Make sure your customers don’t download music they shouldn’t be, or risk jail and fines of up to 60k. That’s the warning MIPI (pseudo cops/Music Industry Piracy Investigations) gave Aussie Internet cafe owners yesterday. MIPI told SMH that “it will also consider civil action against internet cafes simply unaware their customers are downloading content illegally.”...
Australian Family Association: Gay Jesus play a “big enough crime”
The Australian Family Association says the creators of a play that depicts Jesus as a gay man have committed “a big enough crime” by neglecting to treat Christianity and Christian believers with more sensitivity. Corpus Christi, which is set to open at the New Theatre in Newtown on February 7, shows Jesus and the Apostles...
