Australian Filtering Announcement Raises Questions and Ire
From the OpenNet Initiative...
The Australian Telecommunications Minister Stephen Conroy announced on December 31 2007 that mandatory filtering of the Internet would be instituted there. This announcement follows the Rudd government’s plan to provide a “clean feed internet service for all homes” that was unveiled prior to the fall 2007 elections. Many of the reactions to the proposal have been scathing.
If implemented, the policy would mark an important change in Australian filtering practices by shifting the operation of filtering technology away from individual users and computers to Internet Service Providers. The previous plan, to provide all interested families with software to filter the Internet, was designed for individual or household use and rolled out last fall. Soon after the launch of the AU$84 million program, a young man described how he easily dismantled the controls.
This is neither new nor surprising for those that have been following the debate over the use, and hacking, of filtering technology. In placing the controls in the hands of ISPs—who so far seem to be understandably reluctant to take over this role—the calculus of filtering and circumvention change somewhat, but the vulnerability to circumvention remains.
The other major change inherent in this new plan would be that users that wish to see adult content would be required to opt-out of the filtering regime, rather than opt-in, as in the prior configuration. From a privacy and civil liberties standpoint, the notion of compiling a registry of people that would like to see adult material is troubling....
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For more on Internet filtering and surveillance practices worldwide, check out the OpenNet Initiative homepage.
The Australian Telecommunications Minister Stephen Conroy announced on December 31 2007 that mandatory filtering of the Internet would be instituted there. This announcement follows the Rudd government’s plan to provide a “clean feed internet service for all homes” that was unveiled prior to the fall 2007 elections. Many of the reactions to the proposal have been scathing.
If implemented, the policy would mark an important change in Australian filtering practices by shifting the operation of filtering technology away from individual users and computers to Internet Service Providers. The previous plan, to provide all interested families with software to filter the Internet, was designed for individual or household use and rolled out last fall. Soon after the launch of the AU$84 million program, a young man described how he easily dismantled the controls.
This is neither new nor surprising for those that have been following the debate over the use, and hacking, of filtering technology. In placing the controls in the hands of ISPs—who so far seem to be understandably reluctant to take over this role—the calculus of filtering and circumvention change somewhat, but the vulnerability to circumvention remains.
The other major change inherent in this new plan would be that users that wish to see adult content would be required to opt-out of the filtering regime, rather than opt-in, as in the prior configuration. From a privacy and civil liberties standpoint, the notion of compiling a registry of people that would like to see adult material is troubling....
- continued -
For more on Internet filtering and surveillance practices worldwide, check out the OpenNet Initiative homepage.