Public weighs in on Internet filter plans
- 23 March, 2010 12:01
- Comments 4
The Federal Government has released several public submissions received on its Internet filtering discussion paper.
The discussion paper, announced in December, covered measures to increase transparency over refused classification (RC) content, which would be blocked by the proposed Internet filter. It followed an announcement from the Minister for Broadband, Senator Stephen Conroy, on the Government’s intention to bring a mandatory ISP filtering bill to parliament.
Senator Conroy opened up the paper for public discussion and implored organisations and individuals to send in their comments.
The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) received 174 submissions, 36 of which were to be kept private on the behest of the submitters. The rest have been published on the DBCDE website.
“A range of views have been expressed in the submissions and I would like to thank everyone who contributed their comments and valuable ideas to the public consultation process,” Senator Conroy said in a statement.
“The Department will now work with other government agencies to consider the submissions and examine whether the ideas can be used to enhance the proposed accountability and transparency measures.”
The submissions will contribute to the legislation, which will be introduced into Parliament, according to the DBCDE.
In its submission, the Australian Computer Society stated increasing the accountability and transparency around the ACMA Blacklist, as well as ensuring the highest confidence for the proposed new RC content list, was imperative.
The industry group highlighted several fundamental issues remained to be addressed:
- clear articulation of the objective of the filtering policy;
- the scope of material potentially covered by the RC classification and interpretation of the RC category;
- disclosure of what sites or pages are included on the ACMA Blacklist and consequent right of appeal and review, including the reasons behind why material/sites are on the ACMA Blacklist and what sites on the ACMA Blacklist will not be released and for what reasons;
- filtering engendering of a false sense of security amongst the community; and
- over filtering and under filtering and the ramifications of both.
Other industry-level participants in the submissions process included the Australian Library and Information Association, Electronic Frontiers Australia, FamilyVoice Australia, the Internet Industry Association and the Internet Society of Australia.
In December, the Greens party lashed out at the discussion paper and public consultation process. Senator Scott Ludlam claimed the filter appeared to be a “done deal” and the public consultation process only addressed how to classify RC content.
Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.
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Comments
jorgen
"Parallel to the training of the body a struggle against the poisoning of the soul must begin. Our whole public life today is like a hothouse for sexual ideas and simulations. Just look at the bill of fare served up in our movies, vaudeville and theaters, and you will hardly be able to deny that this is not the right kind of food, particularly for the youth...Theater, art, literature, cinema, press, posters, and window displays must be cleansed of all manifestations of our rotting world and placed in the service of a moral, political, and cultural idea."
- Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, Vol. 1 Chapter 10
The proposed filter is plagiarism, and maybe this reveals Mr. Conroys true leanings.
anonymous
@jorgen, it seems that all dictators and would-be dictators think the same way, whatever colour of politics they may profess.
The proposed imposition of secret political censorship in Australia has a lot in common with the central control currently applied in North Korea, China etc.
It may be more than a coincidence that Kruddman and his sidekick Conboy are such keen exponents of anything to do with the current Chinese syndrome.
humpee
Conroy, and indeed Rudd do not know much about the net. You can tell from how they describe and speak of it. Conroy wants to be popular and well thought of for his anti pedophile views and that is perhaps commendable. This does not change the fact he and Rudd seem to be incredibly naive about cyberspace. Unhappily, parents are for the large part too. Children online can be monitored/censored by filters installed to private pc's. Why our unknowledgable little politico's insist on such an expensive, ineffective and personally intrusive measure to 'snoop and control' is certainly not to do with 'caring about the children'. It is about control. Probably unfixable via ballot box as the only alternative to Rudd and co is that other bunch authoritarians. And so it falls to the IT crowd and personal net users to either circumvent, sabotage, or ignore this latest move by government to totally control the degree of privacy and also free speech we are entitled to. And contrary to the official spiel that privacy and free speech are a 'privilege', which must be 'earned' free speech and privacy are a Right, which must be held on to at all costs.
Peter
I think that it should be manditory for all ministers for information technology to have completed at minimum a beginners course in the areas they look after. Stephen Conroy should be required to have completed a CCNA before being able to take up his position. This is the only way to ensure these idiots stop wasting the Australian taxpayers time, money and liberties. The liberals were not much better with senator Richard Alston and his "broadband is just for fast porn" wisdom. Hopefully one day ministers will actually have some idea about what they are responsible for and how it all works.
BTW, top quote jorgen and humpee your on the same thought I am on this.
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