Public forum on Internet regulation in Brisbane, March 24: Senator Ludlam speaking
NewMatilda is holding a series of public forums about the internet regulation debate in Australia, with the first to be held in Brisbane on March 24, 2009. The forums which are also set for Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne in coming weeks explore the ethical, social and political questions raised by government regulation of the Internet....
Filtering wrap up: Background Briefing’s filtering report, Stephen Fry and Scott Ludlam
ACMA’s decision to issue Whirlpool’s host Bulletproof Networks with a link take-down notice last week was big news and rightfully so. If the Rudd government is already attempting to censor free speech, it doesn’t take much to imagine the severe consequences of having a mandatory filter in place. However, it wasn’t the only net filtering...
ACMA forces Whirlpool to remove link to banned anti-abortion web page
ACMA has issued Whirlpool’s web host Bulletproof Networks with a notice to remove a link to this anti-abortion web page, blacklisted by the regulator in January. At risk of their host being hit with $11,000 fines per day, Whirlpool has complied. This comes as Senator Stephen Conroy urged those opposed to the Government’s mandatory ISP...
SBS Insight want to talk to you about mandatory filtering
Insight on SBS is preparing a show exploring the issue of cybersafety and the government’s plans to regulate the Internet. Please contact Anne Worthington on anne.worthington @ sbs.com.au or 02 94303826 if you feel you’d be a good addition to the debate.
Radio station under investigation for publishing corporal punishment video
According to Monday night’s episode of MediaWatch on ABC, ACMA is pursuing a formal complaint against radio station 6PR for publishing a video of a caning which took place in Malaysia approximately four years ago. The 6PR website warns readers with two warning messages before they watch the corporal punishment footage, but MediaWatch host Jonathan...
Freeview TV ad parody disappears from YouTube
Update March 10 2009: Google Australia’s Head of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, Rob Shilkin, has revealed that YouTube received a DMCA notice from lawyers acting on behalf of Freeview Australia Limited to remove the video. Freeview Marketing Manager, Liz Howarth, yesterday denied they had made a complaint. More information at Magaret Simons’ blog and...
Simulate Australian Internet censorship
Ever wondered what it might look like if access to Somebody Think Of The Children was blocked by mandatory ISP filters? Now is your chance to see. EFA has created a new website to give Aussie net users a taste of good ol’ fashioned Internet censorship. Click here to take a look… or not? You’re...
Nick Xenophon withdraws all support for filtering
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has withdrawn all support for the Government’s mandatory ISP filtering scheme according to SMH. Asher Moses reports: Senator Nick Xenophon previously indicated he may support a filter that blocks online gambling websites but in a phone interview today he withdrew all support, saying “the more evidence that’s come out, the more...
Video of the Kickstart 2009 ISP filtering debate: McMenamin still doesn’t get it
You can now watch the filtering debate between Bernadette McMenamin (Childwise), Anthony Pillion (Webshield), Geordie Guy (EFA), and Mark Newton which took place at the Kickstart 2009 media conference on the weekend. Check out the debate here. McMenamin still doesn’t understand why so many are opposed to mandatory ISP filtering if they know it doesn’t...
Australian Government will block RC content under mandatory ISP filtering
In response to questions from Senator Cory Bernardi during a Senate Standing Committee today (transcript here), Senator Stephen Conroy confirmed that the Government intends to block Refused Classification (RC) content under their mandatory ISP filtering scheme. He said there is a strong, overwhelming case for blocking RC content and other types of content will be...
Edith Cowan University research to inform cyber-safety policies says Gov
The DBCDE has commissioned the Child Health Promotion Research Centre at Edith Cowan University to conduct a ‘major review’ of Australian and international research on cyber-safety. Here’s a snippet from the Government’s press release: “The Rudd Government has committed to a comprehensive and evidence-based approach to cyber-safety policies and it is important that this is...
Clive Hamilton accuses critic of trying to silence him
In response to Clive Hamilton’s recent article in Australian IT, Kieran from Websinthe.org sent an email to Charles Sturt University suggesting there needs to be more peer review of Mr Hamilton’s media commentary. Here’s the email: While Clive Hamilton is obviously a greatly respectable academic there really needs to be more peer review of his...
