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Survey: Australian's spurn voluntary Internet filter

Compare Broadband survey suggest 75 per cent of consumers are willing to leave their ISPs over the voluntary filter

Consumers are willing to leave their current ISPs if providers sign onto the voluntary “child abuse” filter, according to a Compare Broadband survey.

The survey follows recent news that the Federal Government’s mandatory ISP filter has been delayed for a year and a voluntary clean-feed featuring select URLs from the ACMA’s refused classification (RC) blacklist will be used for now.

The voluntary list will be populated with websites with child abuse and child pornography material.

The ACMA blacklist covers a wider range of material including terrorist instruction guides, bestiality and overtly violent content.

The broadband comparison site, which receives a small fee from ISPs listed on the site, conducted a survey on 283 people.

Respondents were asked “If your Internet provider starts to filter content (blocking websites promoting illegal activities), would you move to one that doesn’t?” and 75 per cent said they would.

So far, only Telstra, Optus and iPrimus have signed up for the voluntary filter.

“If, as the poll suggests, 75 per cent of people start to leave their ISP due to the filter being applied it is hard to see the ISPs continuing with the voluntary trial,” Compare Broadband general manager, Scott Kennedy, said.

“The Government may well need to cooperation of all ISPs in order for this voluntary scheme to be a success, unless they choose to enact the mandatory Internet filter anyway.”

iiNet, Internode and VHA have confirmed they will be opting out of the voluntary filter.

Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.

More about: Federal Government, iiNet, Internode, iPrimus, Optus, Primus, Telstra, VHA
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Comments

1

Pete

Mon 26/07/2010 - 15:39

Filtering needs to be at the consumer end of the chain with ISP's acting as a pure conduit.

The individual will be liable for any criminal or unsavory activity with the ISP only required to provide evidence if requested by an appropriately authorised authority.

we are not communist China we are "free" nation where people can think and act as an individual.

2

The Big M

Mon 26/07/2010 - 22:32

I predict most will wait and see if the filter has any effect on their usage of the Net, will perceive no difference and will stay where they are... If they perceive and experience real problems then some would move, otherwise why would they...

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