Senator Nick Minchin is taking initiative in his fight against Labor’s mandatory ISP filtering policy and unlike his opposition in the Senate, his message is getting stronger. Minchin’s latest press release draws attention to China’s move to bulk-up it’s censorship system by resorting to PC installed filters and he asks whether Labor will continue to ignore the problems that exist with filtering at ISP level given China’s latest move.
I’m impressed Minchin and his staff took hold of this opportunity to highlight Labor’s flawed policy. I guess it’s been a while since I’ve seen a little bit of tech-know-how on either side of the communications portfolio.
Here’s the press release in full:
Mon, 8th June 2009
While the Rudd Government remains fixated on introducing a mandatory Internet Service Provider level filter, from 1 July all computers in pro-censorship China will have to be sold with PC-level filtering software because too many people are said to able to bypass the centralised system.
Under the Chinese edict all computers sold will be required to have ‘Green Dam – Youth Escort’ software pre-loaded or provided on a CD, according to today’s Wall Street Journal, in a move aimed at protecting young people from “harmful content”.
“The Chinese Government is said to operate the most sophisticated network level Internet filtering system in the world, yet it will require computer-level software to be installed because many users are said to be able to circumvent the centralised ‘Great Firewall’,” Shadow Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Senator Nick Minchin said.
“This is very telling for a country that went down the path of network-level Internet filtering from the very beginning and probably has the most advanced system in the world,” he said.
“If it was such an effective system, why would a country like China feel so compelled to require all computers to have pc-level filtering software installed? I suspect it is because pc-level filters are considered a more practical option.”
“While the Chinese are conceding that ISP-level filtering is not a panacea for restricting access to online content, the Rudd Government is spending millions of dollars to pursue this very approach.
“Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has closed the Net Alert free pc-level filtering initiative, established by the previous Coalition Government, which means there is currently no Commonwealth backed filtering option in place,” Senator Minchin said.
“Net Alert enabled Australian families to install software on their home computers, which could be tailored to the needs of each individual household.
“Adult supervision should be central to all online safety efforts, supported by proven products that can be used to provide extra layers of protection, whether they be ISP or PC-level options.
“Mandatory ISP-level filtering is a very radical step, particularly if it is based on a system that can be simply bypassed by the producers and consumers of illegal content, including child pornography and will adversely impact system speeds and performance.
“While technology advances at a great pace, Senator Conroy has so far failed to demonstrate that a mandatory ISP-level filtering regime can be implemented without adversely affecting the online experiences of law abiding Australians.”
14 comments
Stuart says:
Jun 10, 2009
If a country with a far greater interest in suppressing freedom of speech than Labor has, with virtually no limit on funds or manpower to do so, cannot effectively do so – then what does that say about the likelihood of Australia succeeding where they cannot?
What I cannot understand is why this horse is still being flogged. What is the Government hoping to get out of this morass?
Ms Naughty says:
Jun 10, 2009
I’m a little disappointed that Minchin didn’t mention the elephant in the room: China is a dictatorship, interested in controlling information to consolidate power… and Australia wants to copy it.
Bob Bain says:
Jun 10, 2009
It should be noted that according to the Australian 8th. June 2009 the PC level filter can be turned off so it isn’t mandatory.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25603163-601,00.html?from=public_rss
“Mr Zhang, the Jinhui executive, the Green Dam software can be turned off if parents want to access blocked sites, and that the program can be uninstalled. Users who want to remove it need a password that they set when the software is installed, a precaution he said is aimed at preventing children from disabling the software.”
Syd Walker says:
Jun 10, 2009
Very nicely said, Nick Minchin. Kudos!
Max T says:
Jun 10, 2009
What will it take before these idiots in Canberra realise that Australia says a resounding “NO” to ANY form of net censorship?
There’s GOT to be a hidden agenda here.
Glenn says:
Jun 10, 2009
Well said, Michin.
There is a feedback form on the ALP’s web site, and users are encouraged to provide positive feedback on their policies. That means that any feedback opposing the ISP filtering will not get published.
Now suppose that Labor manages to get this filtering through and all ISPs are doing it before you know it. If Labor really wants to mimic China, the next big step for them is to jail bloggers (as well as citizens who reply to them) if they criticize the government.
Bob Bain says:
Jun 10, 2009
The Green Dam Youth Escort Software can be downloaded from the Net. This blog (seemingly in Hong Kong) has links to the software – also linked to by Citizenlab in Toronto Canada via Twitter.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090608_chinas_green_dam_youth_escort_software/
scomar says:
Jun 10, 2009
“While the Chinese are conceding that ISP-level filtering is not a panacea for restricting access to online content, the Rudd Government is spending millions of dollars to pursue this very approach.”
More to the point: why the fuck are we copying the approach of one of the most opressive regimes in history?
Toejam says:
Jun 11, 2009
Thanks, Bob. And while you’re having a look-see through the software, you might want to occasionally refer to this: https://secure.wikileaks.org/wiki/A_technical_analysis_of_the_Chinese_'Green_Dam_Youth-Escort'_censorship_software
Toejam says:
Jun 11, 2009
Sorry – replace the curly-quotes in that URL with “straight” ones, and it should work.
Alternatively, I’ve put the link in the Website field for *this* post, so clicking on my name should work.
Glenn says:
Jun 12, 2009
The University of Michigan also has an in-depth analysis of the Green Dam software here: http://www.cse.umich.edu/~jhalderm/pub/gd
bagga says:
Jun 12, 2009
“Net Alert enabled Australian families to install software on their home computers, which could be tailored to the needs of each individual household.”
And NetAlert was such an outstanding and popular success, wasn’t it, Senator Minchin. NOT.
Some of you folks have short memories. The Coalition have no genuine, in principle objection to high level net filtering, indeed they seriously looked at introducing it when they were in office. To their credit they accepted that it was not practical. But they only rejected it on practical grounds, not due to any lofty principle.
Make no mistake, if it were technically possible, they would not hesitate to do it. They are only opposing it now to score political points.
HTA says:
Jun 25, 2009
But, bagga, they are not opposing it on moral grounds… they are saying that it will not work.
In other words, they are opposing it now for exactly the same reason they decided not to put one in themselves… how is that inconsistent?
#nocleanfeed looking increasingly likely - looking out from down under says:
Sep 1, 2009
[...] many of us thought that the Green’s opposition to this, combined with the Coalition’s increasingly strong stance against the planned filter, would leave this legislation dead and buried: Labor wouldn’t have the numbers to get it [...]