ISPs give clean feed filter a technical green-light
More than half of the Internet service providers (ISPs) taking part in the Federal Government’s ISP filtering trial have reported minimal speed disruptions or technology problems.
Of the nine participating ISPs, iPrimus, Netforce, Webshield, Nelson Bay Online and OMNIconnect told ARN they had seen no slowdowns in Internet speeds or problems with the filtering solutions in place.
Of the remaining four ISPs, Tech2U and Highway1 were unable to respond by time of publication while Unwired and Optus refused to comment.
iPrimus Australia CEO, Ravi Bhatia, said his company’s ISP filtering trial, which must be opted into by its customers, had “probably involved a few thousand users”.
“The users have not experienced any problems, they haven’t experienced any service degradation so it’s been a pretty good experience,” he said.
The results would be finalised by next week, Bhatia said.
Webshield managing director, Anthony Pillion, said his entire customer base of a few thousand end-users experienced no slow-down in Internet speeds whatsoever.
“From a technical perspective we’re more than confident that if the government decided to roll out a mandatory Internet filter based on or around an Australian Communications and Media Authority [ACMA] blacklist or subset thereof, then it can be done without any impact whatsoever to the speed of the Internet,” he said.
Although OMNIconnect’s managing director, Peter Hutton, received no complaints about slowed speeds or technical problems after the filtering hardware was in place, he said the blacklist provided by ACMA had banned legitimate websites and caused customer dissatisfaction.
“Some of the customers complained because the block list really hadn’t been moderated well enough,” OMNIconnect chief technician, Graeme Lee, said. “One in particular was a site called Redtube.com. The whole site had been blocked and it was just a standard pornography site,” Hutton said.
“Relating to that particular site we did have complaints that people couldn’t get through to it. They opted out of the trial straight away. It was a very embarrassing experience.”
ACMA refused to confirm or deny the website's legality or if it was currently on the blacklist and advised users to read its guidelines for rating internet content.
One common issue with most of the ISPs was the lack of voluntary participants, especially with companies using an opt-in system.
Managing director of Nelson Bay Online, Patrick Sayer, said only 1 per cent of his entire customer base decided to opt-into the system, resulting in just 15 users.
When asked if he believed the trials provided a fair representative study, Hutton’s answer was an unequivocal “no”.
“That’s why we’ve asked for an extension to continue the trial till the end of this month and I understand a number of other ISPs have done the same thing,” he said.
The results come on the back of earlier comments from the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy that the current trial’s success or failure would help form much of the government’s opinions on mandatory nation-wide ISP filtering.
“We'll be guided by that trial. We've always said, consistently, we'll be guided by the trial,” the Minister said on the ABC’s Q&A program.
Comments
What is coming?
Considering the abysmal efforts at getting any broader public opposition to the filter, I would say the filter is coming...
What is coming?
What is coming?
The minister mislead us and must resign
So Captain Krudd and Corporal Conroy, looking to grab some cheap senate and preference votes, say they will be "guided" by the results of the filter trial. Good one, since they set up the so-called trial to produce absolutely untypical results. On this basis, they will now move to apply their secret political censorship.
We have been subjected to serial lies from the government, and serial silliness from the godbotherers, who might be experts on theology but clearly know bugger all about the Net. What is it about "the filter will not work" that they do not understand?
We shall look back on this impending decision with a rising sense of anger and betrayal. Corporal Conroy AND Captain Krudd should resign for attempting this serious deception.
Statistics
If only 1% of ISP customers are CHOOSING to opt in to this trial.... isn't that saying that 99% of internet users DO NOT choose to be government filtered?
If this "black list" has been around for the last 9 years, and it presumably contains a list of banned websites based on "Refused Classification".... and the official original list only contains approximately 2,000? websites.... which is apparently checked intermittently for redundant sites.... I'm guessing that the World-Wide-Web contains more than 2 billion websites....
Lets be conservative and say that there are roughly 10k new websites being created each day (world wide) - assume the same amount becoming redundant....
Realistically - this 1% of Australian internet users are asking to be filtered from .0001% of the world's 'known' "Refused Classifcation" sites (as set out in 'the Act')
AND will that include the BMW site who were recently banned from advertising their new BMW Z4 from Australian TV because it is thought to be "encouraging hoon driving"?
And out of these thousands of websites being created daily - how are we to expect this (or any) government to keep on top of "The Black List"?
- the "problem" will still exist - children MIGHT accidently stumble onto a site which contains inappropriate content!
Is this really the best way to spend AUD$90m Tax Payer money?
Trial
Actually, just WHEN will we see the results of the 'trial' Conroy keeps talking about? I know that this article speaks about the results of a sham display that mocks the very definition of a trial ( the internet related version of a kangaroo court ), so when is this real world trial going to start? Because what has occured over the past few months is in no way a live, accurate or even comprehensive trial by a long shot.
In fact I'd go as far as to say the only things this trial had in common with the end goal is that they both involve filtering and the internet but that's it.
F - Filtering
Can anybody say VPN?
09/09/09. Something is
09/09/09. Something is coming. Watch out for it.
Re: the good old days
You failed to answer the question as to how it would affect the ACT, where pornography is LEGAL TO SELL AND TO PURCHASE.
the good old days
"...how would this affect Canberra where porn is legal. Think I will build a server there, get an internet connection there (as porn is legal) and create a vpn to melbourne ... then resell my services - hahaha........"
better still....why don't you perverts just go back to getting your "reading" material from the newsagents in a brown paper bag and leave the rest of us to use the internet for more worthwhile purposes...
Yeah no slow down when 1% of
Yeah no slow down when 1% of users of a select few ISPs chose to participate. Yeah this definitely shows it's going to work when all the computers in Australia are connected to this, not to mention the phones, PDAs, etc.
Conroy obviously has more experience and technical knowledge than all the industry professionals telling him it's going to slow the net down and this trial proves it.
Conroy's Con-job.
Why won't this clown just accept that the scheme is NOT acceptable, and let it die the death it (and is political career) deserve?
The man's a fool!
"Filtering works so just
"Filtering works so just accept it."
Works? Please define 'works'.
SOME of the ISPs in question report that it can be implemented with minimal impact to traffic. This includes one ISP tha already filtered their entire customer base prior to this whole debacle (also one of the slowest and most expensive ISPs in the nation - coincidence?), and one ISP that ended up filtering a colossal FIFTEEN CUSTOMERS. Verdict: inconclusive.
One ISP also reported that an entire domain got blocked, when the legislation behind the ACMA blacklist (which this "trial" was supposed to be based upon) clearly states that only particular URLs are supposed to be blocked, NOT the entire domain. Verdict: fail.
Who supports filtering? The wilfully ignorant; those who stand to gain financially from selling (or reselling!) censorware services; and those who stand to gain politically from controlling information flow.
Which are you?
SUFFER IT'S FULL STEAM AHEAD
Filtering works so just accept it.
of course these ISPs reported no slow down
most of the ISPs on the filtering trial have already implemented filtering solutions. It's in their best interest to report no slow down, DUH!
Censorship
No you won't see other countries help to free Australians, they'll censor that too. :(
It's up to adults to manage their childrens access, there are plenty of software options available and support to do this.
Adults do not need to be supervised by their Government or anyone else.
Canberra
mmm ... how would this affect Canberra where porn is legal. Think I will build a server there, get an internet connection there (as porn is legal) and create a vpn to melbourne ... then resell my services - hahaha
So 1% of Australians want the
So 1% of Australians want the filter then? Is Australia a democracy, with all that implies, because it certainly appears to be a dictatorship. Why Australians do you keep accepting political parties like this? WHY WHY ELECT THEM???
numbers people
Where are the hard numbers stating how many people *really* participated in this trial? If they were all opt in and the percentages were anything like 1% it is a farce. Isn't the problem with speed going to require load testing?
Why have Optus not commented, they are one of the biggest.
15 users?
One percent of users of Nelson Bay Online opted in =15 users.
So this ISP only has 1500 users total?
That's not a valid test. And they all opted in apparently...
Wowser
"ISPs give clean feed filter a technical green-light"
"When asked if he believed the trials provided a fair representative study, Hutton’s answer was an unequivocal “no”. "
UMM HELLO ?! BIASED MUCH ?
Sigh
More depression from the aust government.
Bend over a little more people.
Whingeing. more whingeing, loads of whingeing...
Lol, this statement is a real zinger:
"“Some of the customers complained because the block list really hadn’t been moderated well enough,” OMNIconnect chief technician, Graeme Lee, said. “One in particular was a site called Redtube.com. The whole site had been blocked and it was just a standard pornography site,” Hutton said. "
You could read in Whingepool for a month leading up to the trial begin how they were planning their complaints campaign. The complaints were discussed and decided before the trials even began, irrespective of the actual performance and results...
If they implement this filter
If they implement this filter we'll party like it its bastille day, 1789.
Off with their heads.
The trial is just a sham! We
The trial is just a sham! We all know that clean feeds are technically possible, that the opt in rate is so low as to make it worthless and that the management of the black list are just too contentious as it is just a censorship tool in the hands of a minority interest driven government. All a sham to placate political interests. Spend it on NBN instead.
Opt in
why didn't all the other ISPs who knew it couldn't work have registered and proved that it was no good then ?
Bollocks
This entire idea is absolute bollocks.
A complete, sinister and huge breach of my civil rights.
Noone - let me repeat that, NOONE, has the right to dictate what I can and cannot have access to.
Who do they think they are to tell me what to do?
It is absolutely disgusting that this has even been trialled.
In Australia.
Australia?
Not some communist backwater - Australia...the "democracy" (the word sticks in my throat every time I say it now).
What a complete joke.
I love Australia and the opportunities it affords me, but this sort of government-controlled (and let's be absolutely clear, it will be controlled in a massively biased way) censorship on something that, by definition, should be limitless, is appalling beyond belief.
The hell with anyone who is involved with this rubbish scheme - I hope it comes back to haunt you for the rest of your lives.
well said
add Australia onto the list of countries where the government is going to censor their information, along with Iran and China. next you will see people in free countries helping Australians escape the oppression of their government in order to get the truth that their government denies them. I wonder what this Conroy guy has to hide.
Facebook terms of use state
Facebook terms of use state that fake names can be removed from the site without warning. The "real name craze" is actually people following the terms and conditions. Also, Go ahead and use fake names on Myspace, the site is rubbish anyways, but the whole point of Facebook is social networking and allowing old friends and colleagues to be able to find you and say hi. Not everyone knows to search for dumb_teenager37 when they go searching for you.
On the webfilter, it's a load of rubbish, if it goes in, it's just going to slow my internet down a ton, even if they manage to attempt to block sites i use, their attempts wont be successful (TOR anyone?) and is just another example of those in power being absolute retards.
well if by chance you get a
well if by chance you get a look at *that* blacklist you will find most of those porn tube sites are blocked from the outset ... I really hope this filter doesnt go through 8-(
web$hield
Keep in mind too if mandatory filter does goes ahead, the web$hield company stands to make millions as consultants or resellers to other ISPs.
I agree with you I am 18.
I agree with you I am 18. Yeah everyone of my friends on Facebook and Myspace these days feels they have to use a real name and also put a real picture of themselves as an avatar which is visible to everyone. I hope that ends soon. I've never done this myself and I hope this "real name craze" will go away soon. It is just mad.
What a surprise!
Conroy's trials were always going to be a resounding success, when:
1. The parameters of the test in no way reflect the intended nature of the filter;
2. The participants in the trial were self-selecting filter advocates; and
3. The criteria for "success" were deliberately vague and undefined.
The trials are a farce, and their results are virtually meaningless.
In other news, a huge surge in VPN services...
@ ACMA not knowing whether a site is legal or not
Apart from not wanting to admit their mistakes, maybe only a few selected people have access to this exclusive black list?
Oh wait, they forgot to check wikileaks!
@ Scratching head
Seems redtube was fixed, you can now go back to scheduled scratching procedures :P
A sham
We all knew the fix was in. Conroy smugly sitting there continually mouthing "We'll wait for the trial".
Because it's soooo scientifically valid to allow opt in only testers, or have no blinding, or to trial only a tiny fraction of users which would not fully load up the filter machines so we can see just how much traffic they can handle before they start to choke.
Never mind the freedom of speech implications or the fact that he is traipsing down the same road as China and Iraq where ISP level filtering has conclusively FAILED.
If Conroy thought he could change minds with this sham trial, he is as miserably stupid as the anti-filter lobby already believes him to be. Much like the "science" from cigarette companies that claimed to prove that smoking wasn't bad for you, Conroy's trial has no credibility and neither does he.
When I was 12 to 16 I would
When I was 12 to 16 I would use internet "handles" for usernames, chatrooms, email addresses and everything else you could think of. Name & location either not provided or false, age and sex would be either not provided or correct/true. Requests for a photo of any kind would also be refused. The general idea at the time was that no one could find myself through MSN etc unless I provided my email address based on the internet "handle".
If you did start getting insults which would not go away by blocking the person, you'd drop that internet handle and re-create a new one, and learn not you trust that specific person again. Also, email addresses would not be given to a person unless I trusted them.
What's REALLY wrong with today's generation of kids is that they have lost the concept of NOT trusting people on the internet & lying or refusing to give information to protect themselves.
Parents need to sit the kids down in front of the computer the first time they use it and create a list through communication on what information SHOULD and SHOULD NOT be shared on the internet to strangers and another list to verified relatives etc.
list
They better not damn well block my porn tubes
Scratching head
“From a technical perspective we’re more than confident that if the government decided to roll out a mandatory Internet filter based on or around an Australian Communications and Media Authority [ACMA] blacklist or subset thereof, then it can be done without any impact whatsoever to the speed of the Internet,” he said.
Except for high traffic websites... Wasn't the mandatory filter only going to block "Almost exclusively RC content", oh never mind I thought this policy was meant to be coherent.
It's astonishing how Conroy has almost completely gotten away with conflating 'prohibited content', 'unwanted', 'RC' and all sorts of other misleading (on purpose or not, its hard to tell if hes a liar or just stupid) statements.
So has Conroy answered the question by Senator Ludlam about this being the equivalent to opening everyone's mail? *chirp*
lies, damned lies and statistics
A few thousand does not compare to a few million.
with really cheap and
with really cheap and competitive pricing......
We knew the results were
We knew the results were always going to be a resounding success. Even the last ACMA trials that slowed the internet by an average of 30% (with the most accurate filter coming with an 87% slowdown) were a success in Conroy's eyes.
iiNet wanted to perform a comprehensive and scientifically valid double-blind test, and Conroy refused.
Instead, we have a tiny percentage of the online population (consisting entirely of people who opt-in and therefore want the filter to begin with), testing against a blacklist that Conroy now claims has nothing to do with the proposed filter (apparently it's "almost exclusively RC" now in contrast to the almost exclusively adult pornography it is now), which is supposed to be representative of 20 million people using the same filter (scalability? what's that?).
The trials are rigged and they have been all along.
The Great Australian FAILwall
1% of users at one ISP opted in - FAIL
Sites that aren't illegal added to the list - FAIL
Unhappy customers - FAIL
An unrepresentative trial - FAIL
ACMA not knowing whether a site is legal or not - FAIL
Not enough time allowed for a proper trial - FAIL
As everyone with a clue predicted, this trial has FAIL painted all over it in large letters.
Conroy = FAIL
Rigged
Surprise surprise. Conjob has successfully rigged the 'live pilot'. An optional trial for a mandatory filter. Sure, that'll prove something...
Webshield
Webshield's entire customer base was ALREADY behind a censored feed. That's the whole reason Webshield EXISTS - that's all they offer! OF COURSE they're not going to experience any slowdown!
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