Australia plans tough web rules
By Phil Mercer
BBC News, Sydney
Australia is planning tough new rules to protect children from online pornography and violence.
The new Labor government wants internet service providers to filter content to ensure households and schools do not receive "inappropriate" material. Civil libertarians have condemned the plan as unnecessary, and say it will erode the freedom of the internet. But telecommunications minister Stephen Conroy said more needed to be done to protect children.
Family-friendly
The Australian government's aim is to ensure that children only have access to family-friendly websites.
Service providers will be expected to stop the flow of pornography and other X-rated or violent content. The government is set to compile a list of unsuitable sites, although at this stage it is unclear what will be deemed unsuitable. Australians wanting unfettered access to the web will have to contact their supplier to opt out of the new regime. Critics of the proposals have insisted they have no place in a liberal democracy, and have accused Canberra of being oppressive.
But Mr Conroy has been unmoved by their arguments. The minister stressed that if people equated freedom of speech with watching child pornography then he would always disagree with them. Concerns have also been raised that the government's filters could slow down access to the net, in a country where connection speeds are often below international standards.
[url=\"http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7165987.stm\"]BBC News Source[/url]
Australian Web Censorship Proposed
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Australian Web Censorship Proposed
[color=\"#41211C\"]It takes years to build up trust and only seconds to destroy it
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Australian Web Censorship Proposed
I really do hate it when people try to censor the internet. My school blocks just about everything. I have seen the filter tell me that a website was blocked because it was "Fun." YouTube is blocked for "R-Rated Material." When I did a presentation about the history of video games, every website was blocked for "Games." Oh, right, and joke websites? Blocked under category "Fun." The list can go on and on...
I can't believe that Australia is going to censor their crappy internet. It's so crappy that none of the aussies even want to spend time on the internet to go to these "censored" sites in the first place. Maybe they should invest in bumping up their internet speeds before they try and censor their crappy internet they have now.
I can't believe that Australia is going to censor their crappy internet. It's so crappy that none of the aussies even want to spend time on the internet to go to these "censored" sites in the first place. Maybe they should invest in bumping up their internet speeds before they try and censor their crappy internet they have now.
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Australian Web Censorship Proposed
yeah they havent thought this one through. our internet speed sucks already, imagine what putting a massive filter at the isp would do to it <img src=\'http://www.killanet.net/forum3/public/s ... #>/cry.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':(\' /> poor internet.
oh and a point to remember, the last time the aus government tried to put in a porn filter, it was cracked by a 16 year old in 30 minutes.
oh and a point to remember, the last time the aus government tried to put in a porn filter, it was cracked by a 16 year old in 30 minutes.
Australian Web Censorship Proposed
The only *good* <img src=\'http://www.killanet.net/forum3/public/s ... #>/dry.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'<_<\' /> thing about this idea is that you can call your ISP and tell them to take it off from your account. Besides that it's a load of crap.
Australian Web Censorship Proposed
I don't think the internet should be censored by a government. By a business to some degree i can see the point, they don't want their employees goofing off during work etc. *shrug* it should be up to the parents to teach their kids.
Love is all a matter of timing.
It's no good meeting the right person too soon or too late.
If I'd live in another time or place...
...my story might have had a very different ending.
It's no good meeting the right person too soon or too late.
If I'd live in another time or place...
...my story might have had a very different ending.
Australian Web Censorship Proposed
[quote name=\'Jim\' post=\'42533\' date=\'Jan 2 2008, 02:51 PM\']I don't think the internet should be censored by a government. By a business to some degree i can see the point, they don't want their employees goofing off during work etc. *shrug* [b]it should be up to the parents to teach their kids.[/b][/quote]
Exactly.
And another reason this filter is stupid is that you can just go to a proxy site such as proxify.com. Granted that doing this will slow down the loading time, but it should by-pass the filter no worries and there's hundreds of free online proxies to choose from.
Exactly.
And another reason this filter is stupid is that you can just go to a proxy site such as proxify.com. Granted that doing this will slow down the loading time, but it should by-pass the filter no worries and there's hundreds of free online proxies to choose from.