Parents find managing their child’s Internet use easy: ACMA report
A government report on media use by young people, that ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman says is sure to inform further debate about digital media literacy, has found 76% – 92% of parents surveyed find it easy to manage their child’s use of the Internet. The report also found that most young people do not have...
Only 32% of current ACMA blacklist is child abuse material
In response to Senate questions, ACMA admitted this evening that their current blacklist contains only 32% child abuse material. During a Senate Standing Legislation Committee for Environment, Communications & the Arts, they revealed that the list contains 51% refused classification material (which includes child abuse material), meaning the other 49% is rated X18+ or less....
ACMA blacklists WikiLeaks page
It has been revealed that ACMA has blacklisted a page on the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks.org that contains a leaked copy of the Danish blacklist of banned websites. Like the anti-abortion page recently blacklisted by ACMA, this page was also submitted to the media authority for investigation by a Whirlpool user. The complainant, ‘Tardis42’, believes there...
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...
DBCDE answers ISP questions about live filtering trial
The DBCDE has published answers to 23 questions submitted by ISP’s about their live filtering pilot. Considering the size of the task proposed and the impact it would have on ISPs, DBCDE’s response is rather barebones. Here’s a selection: 1. If this Pilot is run as a voluntary opt in service for the Pilot, how...
More flaws surface in clean feed trial
Network engineer Glen Turner has voiced his concerns about the Tassie filtering trial. In the comments section of my earlier post, Glen says a critical flaw exists in the trial’s testbed design: ’80-90% of Australia?s Internet traffic goes to the USA, a considerable distance and a large amount of latency. This is not simulated in...
ACMA approves Content Services Code to ‘protect children’
The ACMA has approved the Internet Industry Association’s new Content Services Code. It was required because of changes made to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 last year. The biggest of those changes was probably the new prohibition on MA15+ content delivered via Internet or a mobile services, unless it was subject to appropriate access restrictions....
Censors investigate websites using Henson photographs
The Classification Board is investigating news media websites who published photographs taken by Bill Henson. The case was referred to them by the ACMA, but it’s unknown whether a complaint was made by a member of the public (maybe a revolted PM?) or the ACMA took it upon themselves. So on one hand you’ve got...
ACMA investigating Underbelly after Festival of Light complaint
The ACMA is investigating claims by extreme-right Christian group Festival of Light (FoL) that the Nine Network crime series Underbelly breached television classification guidelines on five different occasions. According to News Ltd, the FoL complaint suggests strong coarse language, drug use and nudity have all been aired at an inappropriate time. They want Underbelly reclassified...
