Comments on: Filter may be voluntary says Conroy

By: Tales From Beyond The Grave: The Internet Filter. | The Refined Geek

Tales From Beyond The Grave: The Internet Filter. | The Refined Geek — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 02:02:17 +0000

[...] seems that whilst the funding for a “mandatory voluntary” filter was indeed dropped in this year’s budget due to limited interest (or was that [...]

By: Tobias

Tobias — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:04:35 +0000

What a nice piece of hypocrisy. Stephen Conroy agrees not to legislate to introduce an internet filter, so long as all of the ISPs agree to “voluntarily” introduce an internet filter.

By: Rob Masters

Rob Masters — Sun, 31 May 2009 02:48:59 +0000

Um. So the filter would be voluntary, but everyone would have to have it.

So, something like requiring a license to run an ISP, and not issuing one to an ISP that does not have the filter – due to some minor technicality, of course, nothing to do with the filter.

Sounds rather … cold-war era Eastern Bloc to me!

(I know, tin-foil hat and all, but it’s the only time I’ve ever heard of that sort of setup!)

By: Glenn

Glenn — Fri, 29 May 2009 05:34:30 +0000

Yes, and there was talk that the PM would be reshuffle his cabinet after this year’s budget, and that Conroid would be in the firing line. So what happened to that?

By: fiona patten

fiona patten — Fri, 29 May 2009 02:43:13 +0000

Conroy told me a few months ago that they had never planned to include X and R material in the mandatory filter and I had it wrong. Now he is saying that the mandatory filter is to be voluntary. I am still very suspicious but I think we may see a new communications minister soon. Hopefully one that is capable of communicating.

By: Sean the Blogonaut

Sean the Blogonaut — Wed, 27 May 2009 12:15:05 +0000

Jim Wallace and his right wing christian stooges are crying broken promises over this backflip. Funny thing is that it never was a promise was it, a mandatory scheme?

By: Syd Walker

Syd Walker — Wed, 27 May 2009 09:16:14 +0000

Is this scenario too cynical to imagine?

1/ Government announces a gigantic $40+ billion bucketload of cash will be coming soon to the IT industry to set up a new hyper-zippy network.

2/ Government invites all ISPs to participate in this bonanza, including Telstra.

3/ Government makes it clear that only ISPs that ‘voluntarily’ impose ‘filtering’ on their customers can get a piece of the lucrative action.

4/ Telstra, Optus and the other biggies roll over (shareholders would probably insist).

5/ Any ISPs that say no will be dealt with. over time, by other merans – and frozen out of the $40 billion bonanza.

In this scenario, the famous Hitler video is the wrong analogy. This is much more like the way a magnate expands his Empire.

Buy – using the power of the purse.

Is the Rudd Government planning to use tens of billions of the public’s cash to bribe/bully ISPs into submission?

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 27 May 2009 07:31:06 +0000

Filtering IS already voluntary and always has been. It has never been unlawful to install filtering software on your computer.

By: Hammy

Hammy — Wed, 27 May 2009 03:09:10 +0000

I’m increasingly convinced that he will back away from this stupid idea completely. I’m not saying we should be any less vigilant – it still scares the crap out of me – but he does seem to be toning it down.

By: Syd Walker

Syd Walker — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:55:54 +0000

It’d often hard to understand what Conroy means and this is a case in point. Like Dubya, his incoherent use of language gives him plausible deniability on just about everything.

How can you take an illiterate literally?