The Australian government is planning to implement internet filtering at the ISP level. This internet filter will work in much the same way as the freely available filters for adult content which can already be downloaded by the public for personal use. The proposed filter will be intended to block content with a MA15+ rating or higher. Websites deemed to host illegal content will also be blocked. A blacklist of websites deemed unsuitable for public viewing has already been produced, this list is at present not available to the public. The dangerous concern is that any website the government disapproves of can easily be added to this list. Regardless of whether or not you trust the current government, there are no safeguards in place to prevent future governments from exploiting this list and adding websites that oppose their own personal ideals.
In order to pass this legislation it is likely that gambling websites will also be blocked. The cost of this technology is believed to be $45 million for the initial setup and then an additional $33 million per annum.
On the 28th of July the Australian government released a report detailing the results of a trial of six potential filters. The report included the following statistics.
Internet speeds dropped between 21% and 86%. The most accurate filter was also the one with the greatest drop in speed.
Content that the filters failed to block ranged from 2% to 13%.
Content blocked by mistake ranged from 1.3% to 7.8%
The type of websites blocked by accident may include websites on issues such as sexual health or breast cancer. Legitimate websites unfortunate enough to be hosted on a web-server with adult content are also likely to be blocked. Websites which are hacked or spammed with porn will again be blocked. Hate websites and websites deemed to be inciting criminal activity will be blocked, this may include websites promoting euthanasia or file sharing.
This legislation will not protect children. If anything this legislation is more likely to harm children than protect them. Parents are likely to be lured into a false sense of security. Bypassing internet filters has been proven to be notoriously easy for children.
Of greater concern is the possibility that such a filter would encourage paedophiles to start using programs that make it more difficult for them to be tracked. This would hamper the efforts of the police in tracking paedophiles online.
An internet filter will do nothing to combat the production and uploading of Child Pornography.
The internet filter will not block P2P networks which are where the majority of file sharing occurs.
If the Australian government wants to stop child sexual abuse then the money for this legislation should be spent on Federal police programs designed to target the producers of such material
Let your federal MP know how you feel about this issue. Speaking directly to them will have the greatest effect. Letters will help too especially handwritten ones. Be careful not to insult or offend them, even if they are a sitting member of the labor party, they may not necessarily agree with this policy.
An official petition is available at http://www.wakinggiant.org/au_censorship.htm. The petition is open to all Australian citizens. Make sure that the people who sign it add their address, failing to do so may render a signature void.
Join Australians Against Internet Censorship.(AAIC). We are a non-political non-profit group dedicated to stopping this legislation from being passed. We are working at raising awareness of this issue and organising protests to show the public opposition to this legislation. You can find us at http://www.nocleanfeedforum.com
For further information visit http://stopthecleanfeed.com/
In order to pass this legislation it is likely that gambling websites will also be blocked. The cost of this technology is believed to be $45 million for the initial setup and then an additional $33 million per annum.
On the 28th of July the Australian government released a report detailing the results of a trial of six potential filters. The report included the following statistics.
Internet speeds dropped between 21% and 86%. The most accurate filter was also the one with the greatest drop in speed.
Content that the filters failed to block ranged from 2% to 13%.
Content blocked by mistake ranged from 1.3% to 7.8%
The type of websites blocked by accident may include websites on issues such as sexual health or breast cancer. Legitimate websites unfortunate enough to be hosted on a web-server with adult content are also likely to be blocked. Websites which are hacked or spammed with porn will again be blocked. Hate websites and websites deemed to be inciting criminal activity will be blocked, this may include websites promoting euthanasia or file sharing.
This legislation will not protect children. If anything this legislation is more likely to harm children than protect them. Parents are likely to be lured into a false sense of security. Bypassing internet filters has been proven to be notoriously easy for children.
Of greater concern is the possibility that such a filter would encourage paedophiles to start using programs that make it more difficult for them to be tracked. This would hamper the efforts of the police in tracking paedophiles online.
An internet filter will do nothing to combat the production and uploading of Child Pornography.
The internet filter will not block P2P networks which are where the majority of file sharing occurs.
If the Australian government wants to stop child sexual abuse then the money for this legislation should be spent on Federal police programs designed to target the producers of such material
Let your federal MP know how you feel about this issue. Speaking directly to them will have the greatest effect. Letters will help too especially handwritten ones. Be careful not to insult or offend them, even if they are a sitting member of the labor party, they may not necessarily agree with this policy.
An official petition is available at http://www.wakinggiant.org/au_censorship.htm. The petition is open to all Australian citizens. Make sure that the people who sign it add their address, failing to do so may render a signature void.
Join Australians Against Internet Censorship.(AAIC). We are a non-political non-profit group dedicated to stopping this legislation from being passed. We are working at raising awareness of this issue and organising protests to show the public opposition to this legislation. You can find us at http://www.nocleanfeedforum.com
For further information visit http://stopthecleanfeed.com/
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