Australian Government to Censor the Internet
Very rarely do I get sucked in to commenting on Australian politics, but when two things I feel passionately about, which are fundamental to my daily life (personal freedom and the internet) are jeopardised, I can’t just look away…
Yesterday the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy announced the introduction of mandatory ISP-level filtering of Australian Internet access by 2011. 44 million dollars have been budgeted (so far).
In short, the government will control what content you can, and cannot access online.
And typical of a government trying to control it’s citizens, there is plenty of propaganda, fear and misinformation being spread. In this case we are being sold the need for internet filtering to “to improve safety on the internet for Australian families” by filtering out “Refused Classification rated material, including child sex abuse content, bestiality, sexual violence including rape, and the detailed instruction of crime or drug use.”
Yes, that all sounds awful, and no-one in their right mind would argue for access to that kind of content, and that’s exactly how they intend to get your approval.
However, the Internet does not work in a manner that would let a filter be effective, and the World Wide Web contains far more content than could ever be effectively rated by a Government organisation. It is well known that the type of material the government are claiming to attempt to filter is often distributed by means that cannot be filtered with the proposed solution (including file sharing, irc file transfer and email).
The government funded Enex content filtering pilot report actually notes that “A technically competent user could, if they wished, circumvent the filtering technology.” So, not only is the filter ineffective, it’s easily bypassed.
So far big telcos like Telstra, Optus, and Primus are backing it publicly, however Google is not a fan, and neither are the vast majority of Australian Internet users (see whirlpool forum, twitter).
Sadly, we will become the first amongst western democracies to implement internet censorship by government filtering. What does that say about our freedom compared to the rest of the world?
Just see this Wikipedia article on Internet Censorship, then answer me, do we really want to give the government that kind of power and risk going the way of countries like Iran or China? Countries where mediums of communication are controlled by the government, countries that think nothing of blocking access to political, opinion/blogs and world news sites because they don’t align with government ideals?
It may seem far fetched, but censorship (read: government control) is a very slippery slope. Once implemented it’s very easy to amend, add or edit. Pressure is already mounting in Parliament to expand the scope of the mandatory filter to encompass all adult material and other categories such as gambling or anorexia-related sites. It’s hard to see how the Government could resist this pressure when bargaining in the senate to get important legislation passed.
Here’s another fun fact, filtering also slows Australia’s already lackluster internet connection speeds. In short, even if it worked the filter is a terrible policy. By censoring the entire country’s Internet access down to the level of a child of indeterminate age, it robs Australian adults of ability to make their own decisions about what content they view.
Take Action:
For More Ways to Take Action See:
How to contact Senator Stephen Conroy, your local representative, the opposition, and your ISP
Save The Net Petition (same as widget above)
Stop Australian Internet Censorship Petition
Use the #nocleanfeed hashtag when tweeting about it on Twitter
Further Reading:
Liberal Party Post: Labor should end mandatory internet filtering farce
Australian Government Discussion Paper: Measures to increase accountability and transparency for Refused Classification material
Enex Content Filtering Pilot Report
EFA Filtering Fact Sheet (PDF)
Wikipedia Article on Internet Censorship in Australia
Sources:
No Clean Feed – Stop Internet Censorship in Australia
Senator Stephen Conroy’s Press Release
Get Up Australia: Filtering at Odds with Broadband Revolution
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
- Ben Franklin
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