Just a quick reminder folks that both Four Corners and Q&A on ABC this evening (Monday, May 10) are about Labor’s Internet censorship policy (which is still very much on their agenda, despite some reports claiming it’s been ditched).
You can tune into Four Corners at 8:30PM and Q&A at 9:35PM, both on ABC1.
Four Corners will provide what looks to be a good overview of the Government’s plan to filter the web, including how much that plan has changed since it was first announced. Meanwhile, Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O’Connor, Shadow Minister for Innovation Sophie Mirabella, Beijing-based internet consultant Kaiser Kuo, Internet activist Brett Solomon and commentator Helen Razer will take questions on Q&A. There’s a bingo card to play along with as well.
For International readers, both shows should be available to download not too long after.
6 comments
Stuart says:
May 10, 2010
I’m looking forward to hearing Kaiser Kuo explain how censoring search results on “Tiananmen Square” to exclude the massacre is “good for China”, and why Australia should be doing the same.
Sansha says:
May 11, 2010
I love the bingo board.
Hyperion says:
May 12, 2010
“(which is still very much on their agenda, despite some reports claiming it’s been ditched)”
You depress me so, government.
*facepalm*
appalled says:
May 20, 2010
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/travellers-to-be-searched-for-porn-20100520-vh09.html
Well! Incoming international passengers are now required to declare if they are carrying “pornography”! Customs now has the right to search the laptops!
When did they tell us this was going to happen? I am seriously appalled by this.
Greg Schofield says:
Jun 14, 2010
If anyone remembers, a few years back a Polish site became the target of interpol because of child porn and from it a list of regulars was obtained and some arrests made.
If had been banned, the paedophiles would have simply circulated a bulletin board telephone number and thereby avoid detection.
I may have had a small role to play in this particular event, because I had been anonymously sent a link to his site when I was a high school teacher. No problem, I thought, I will simply report the site to the police. It took me seven hours of telephone calls to finally find anyone in the police force willing to investigate the site I had found – seven hours! And who did I find? Not a Federal Policeman, but a civilian working on internet fraud cases.
That is no-one at all in the West Australian Police force was even willing to record that I had made a complaint, and no-where in the Federal Police was there anyone assigned to keeping tabs on such things, rather I was able to convince someone contracted by the police to investigate off-their-own-bat, they simply confirmed by email that the site was what I had described and that seemed enough to prove that as a teacher I had not been downloading kiddy porn – I cannot help but think that the original link had been sent to me because as a teacher I had openly opposed the curriculum being installed in WA, but perhaps I was just being paranoid?
The real point is that if these people were actually serious about kiddy porn they would not be banning sites, but setting up investigatory teams and a complaint line. The fact that they have not this shows they are neither serious nor honest, just beating the popularist drum for censorship in general.
Syd Walker says:
Jun 30, 2010
Here’s my open letter to Julia Gillard about Internet Censorship FWIW – along with her contact details and a few suggestions if anyone would lie to do similar.
We need a rapid viral campaign on this IMO.
http://sydwalker.info/blog/2010/06/30/open-letter-to-julia-gillard-re-compulsory-internet-censorship/