Updated: Conroy releases Internet filter trial report
- 15 December, 2009 15:33
- Comments 7
The Minister for Broadband, Senator Stephen Conroy
The Minister for Broadband, Senator Stephen Conroy, has released the results of the controversial Internet filter trial and has revealed plans to introduce legislation to enforce mandatory ISP-level filtering.
The live pilot was intended to test the use of Internet content filters to block out refused classification content such as child pornography but the trial caused a furore with fears the Government will use filtering technology to censor the Internet, similar to the situation in China.
Testing began in Q1 of 2009 and concluded several months later.
The Enex Test Laboratory was charged with overseeing the trial.
In October, Senator Conroy confirmed he had received the report from the testing firm but did not release the results.
Primus Telecom CEO, Ravi Bhatia, attended the Senator Conroy’s Cyber Safety press conference in Melbourne today where the long-awaited report was finally released to the public.
He told ARN that, according to the report, the trial went according to plan and there was no noticeable impact on broadband performance when filters were in place.
The report indicated 100 per cent accuracy when filtering RC-rated material on the ACMA blacklist.
According to a press statement released by Senator Conroy, the Government plans to bring in legislative amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act, which will require all ISPs to block RC-content hosted on overseas servers.
An RC-content list, independent from ACMA’s blacklist, will be the basis for the filter. The bill will be debated during the autumn parliamentary sittings next year.
To quell possible concerns of political censorship, the process of compiling the proposed RC list is open to public consultation.
The Government has proposed several options for the process, including referring all material to the Classification Board and an ACMA notification procedure.
Interested parties can weigh in on the discussion by submitting their responses by February 12, 2010, on www.dbcde.gov.au/consultation_and_submissions.
If the legislation is passed, there will be a 12-month implementation period.
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Comments
Anonymous
Idiots!
Which part of "it won't work" does the government not understand?
Anonymous
More Business?
Sounds like a good time to start a VPN business.
Anthony Voevodin
It will work! Not to do what they claim it will do but it will work to do what they actually want it to do.
This is why all pleading of " stop this it won't work" falls on deaf ears.
They know it won't do what they claim it's for, but they don't care, that's just a distraction.
It has always been about inserting a stop valve in the plumbing of the Internet.
This is why it's full steam ahead despite the public outcry and all the rationale about it not being the answer to the problem.
Once implemented this becomes the perfect tool to control the flow of information to Australians.
This is the equivolent of digital book burning.
If we allow this to happen, then we deserve it.
Roddy
Some poor tools think IPv6 will be a problem... lol
Some desperate filter opponents are spreading the FUD that IPv6 will render URL filters ineffective.
LOL, what a load of codswallop and rubbish.
I think they need to stop getting their technical reviews off the Britney Spears fan site...
Bring up and challenge the gov proposals based on facts folks, leave the blatant misinformation to the trolls.
Hold them to account, but avoid spreading technical inaccuracies.
Simonious
This is a sad day for Austrlian's and free speech.
bring on the federal election. Lets vote Commie conroy and the the whole KRudd slocists out of office and logbby the libs to can this plan. better than that lets lobby them to put up a referendum so we can have it written into our constitution that no government ever has the right to censor anything.
Anonymous
Definately information control
They probably won't even deny this... just another way to control what the general population Australia sees & hears. I don't think they realise how much business ISP's will lose from users once it is put in place... Sales will drop and price hikes for ISP plans will go up...
David
Why do we care if the the trial says the filter works or not?
It doesnt matter if the filter is 100% accurate or doesnt slow down the internet, if they are using this as there basis that internet filtering overall works then they are idiots.
The proposed internet filter doesnt filter kids chats rooms, it doesnt filter email, doesnt filter torrents, doesnt filter anything P2P and can be completely bypassed by a VPN.
Thats what the trial should have been on, how effective a web filter is as a method for stopping access to RC material, I can tell you now, that trial would have failed in about 10 mins. A technological trial on a web filter is pointless, anyone who works at a company with a web filter setup knows that web filters work, they get a little message or a page not found when they try to go to facebook, hotmail etc.
Most companys also block all outgoing internet access except for the filtered web proxy, because they know that a web filter is useless without restricting every other way of gaining internet access, but you cant do that for normal internet users.
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