Forum - View topicNEWS: Proposed Australian Legislation to have Overseas ISP Filtering
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NegativeZero
Posts: 94 Location: Melbourne, Australia |
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The issue here isn't that it blocks child porn, or that Australia has very broad laws regarding that. It's that it's a secret blacklist which is mandatory. It is legal to possess refused classification material in Australia, but this legislation will make it illegal to view it. In fact, it is designed to block 'unwanted material', the definition of which has not been codified.
Refused classification material is also not limited to kiddy porn and deviant material. For example, Australia lacks an adult rating for video games so a lot of games get refused classification, and the filtering would be expanded to websites that sell or discuss games that have failed to be classified. Other refused classification material has included controversial films and books, and information about euthanasia. This filter is opposed by the majority of Australians. It will do almost nothing to stop people who are making or distributing child pornography, who will continue to do so via private networks and P2P services (which are not filtered). This material isn't distributed openly. It won't stop children accessing material that is inappropriate for them, because it is easy to work around and it is based off a list of censored sites. Proper parental supervision and a client-level filter has been shown to be far more effective. Note that the previous Australian government provided free client-side filtering software and almost no-one in the country bothered to use it. The blacklist itself is kept completely secret and there's no process given for appealing a listing. Leaked copies of the blacklist have shown that the content of the list has many sites which should not be censored at all, eg the website of a dentist. It's a huge infringement on personal freedom and liberty in the country. The only other nations to have comprehensive filtering systems like the one proposed are tightly controlled fascist or communist regimes. Additionally Australians have no legal checks and balances in place - unlike the US, there is no constitutional right to freedom of speech or freedom of expression here. There's the very real threat that this becomes the thin end of the wedge, with more and more material on the internet being considered 'unwanted' when it is convenient for the politicians in power. However the country's leadership continues to forge ahead on the policy regardless of how unpopular it is, complete with rhetoric up to and including the accusation that anyone who opposes the plan must clearly be a kiddy fiddler. 
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Greboruri
Posts: 387 Location: QBN, NSW, Australia |
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I really still can't believe that more than two years down the track, the Labor government is still going ahead with this. Oh, and Refused Classification material isn't just the "worst of the worst" as our dear communications minister Senator Conroy says. It includes stuff like graffiti magazines and films, arthouse films such Baise Moi and Ken Park and mainstream pornography such as magazines like Hustler's Barely Legal and Gallery. You know, stuff that people in Europe and the US can buy legally from shops.
It's a blend of far right Christian groups such the Australian Christian Lobby and ye olde paedophilia-philia (see the Bill Henson debacle). See Irene Graham's website for the amazing history of this internet censorship nonsense. It must be noted that the government knows that the technology is really limited (they can only have maximum a blacklist of 10,000 urls and the censorware boxes crash if a Youtube or Wikipedia link is on the black list, which there are several of – the list has leaked three times now), yet they’re still going ahead. At the very least they have watered the plan down somewhat. It’s gone from banning anything over M15+ (US equivalent of PG-13) to Refused Classification material. It’s still a money wasting, easily circumvented, stupid policy which has no apparent goals. EDIT: Oh thanks NegativeZero, yes a secret blacklist, that’s harking back to the 1950’s. Don Chipp is probably spinning in grave. |
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Tasolth
 Posts: 6 |
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*sigh* censorship is a slippery slope... and it only gets worse the farther you get into it. While the intention is good, any and all attempts thus far have been so broad and blanketed that they do far more harm than good.
Besides, anyone with half a brain will quickly figure out how to get around it. Its like like a kid looking at porn on their parents computer. Parents install censorship software, and the kid still gets around it. It's a never ending game of cat and mouse. |
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walw6pK4Alo
 Posts: 9322 |
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In Australia, fictional animated characters are given the same rights and protection as actual real life humans.
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Matriel
Posts: 87 |
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I could post some huge rant on how horrible and disconcerted this makes feel, I'll just make it short. Why is it that as the world becomes more "interconnected", the greater (or more concentrated) peoples fears and paranoia of the "other" seem to separate us from one another? Some would rather outright ban a certain set of ideals/morals (and I mean that in a very broad sense, people's concept of right or wrong can determine what they believe to be tasteful or crude) and hide from the differences in all our cultures rather than try to understand and work with people's right to personal freedom, independence of thought, and choice.
As somewhat of a rebuttal to my statement above, some acts/ideals/morals are very clearly criminal. Society shouldn't accept the activities of a rapist, for example. But as Greboruri said, when you have groups of lobbyists whose sole purpose is to deny the legitimacy of others, and thereby "legitimizing" their own, the world becomes a much colder place. A place where differences are feared and people polarize to one side, blocking out the other. At times it seems as if the world is getting closer and closer to full on thought control. Sorry, that was much longer and more preachy than I intended it to be, but that's some of what went on in my head after reading the news post. |
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Kougeru
 Posts: 5593 |
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I'm really glad I don't live in Australia. Beauty country...but it seems to lack a lot of freedoms. The video game censorship they have there is crazy and so this is as well.
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DAngel17
 Posts: 17 Location: Maine, USA |
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I think it is good to filter out the hard and soft core child porn and any one or caricature of a person who is not of Legal age to to be doing those sexual activitys from the internet.
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nargun
Posts: 930 |
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Dangel17:
censor censure More to the point, though: your desire that adult porn be "tasteful" is your aesthetic preference, nothing more. And I don't think "this is what I like so it's what you're getting too" is a terribly convincing argument. [which isn't to say that I'm in-principle opposed to censorship: nothing could be further from the truth. But I don't justify my position by declaring that my aesthetic preferences are or should be universal.] |
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Espeon
 Posts: 105 Location: Australia |
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Real underage porn should always be block no matter what it's sick. But a cartoon.. black and white lines given rights, what next change the legal sex age to 21. Give me a break a cartoon is not real doesnt get hurt.. They should have better things to do then filtering cartoons.
Ah well life goes on. |
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DarkHunter6523
 Posts: 96 |
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I look forward to the day fictional characters can become Australian citizens and start voting. |
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Sailor S
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If the Handley case is anything to go by, then it's the same in the US too. And if Equality Now had their way, Japan would follow suit. Those poor, exploited 2D drawings 
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Daemonblue
 Posts: 701 |
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As the saying goes, the path to hell is paved in good intentions. And as mentioned before, the big beef is the whole secret blacklist. EFF has been keeping tabs on this little piece of legislation for a while, and there's currently an Australian branch of the Pirate Party getting memebers to officially be recognized as a political party there (they're pro-freedoms, not pro-piracy, the name is more of a knne-jerk thing to grab people's attention). All the passing of such legislation will do is give more countries a reason to "normalize" their filtering of online content, using phrases such as "well they're doing it too!" By the way, that was China's reason for their Great Firewall of China - because the Westerners have the same kind of online filtering...
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jtstellar
Posts: 94 |
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wow good to see some freedom and liberty loving individuals here. a fresh change from the usual "whatever the authority propagates must have their good reasons" crowd.
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Nanoob
Posts: 23 |
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That's a terrible point, what are you talking about? Is anyone trying to do this? All I can find on google is talk about lowering the aoc for homosexuals in Queensland. Any exploitive media that depicts a prepubescent having sex is wrong. That said, I'd prefer to criminalize possession rather than out-right censorship, especially to this degree. |
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CCSYueh
 Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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Maybe they can elect a fictional President to address their rights to access adult materials, violent video games, etc. This sounds familiar. Macross? The virtual idol thing. GetBackers also. As hologram technology progresses, it could work. One could even see it around the world as an excuse to protect leaders from assassination. They could remain safe within the fortified walls of their underground bunker & never see the light of day again.
How about demons? Does that fox inside Naruto mean having sex with him is beastiality? Kurama? The boys in Sohryuden are dragons which I think makes it beastiality.
sticks & stones may break my bones, but whips & chains excite me as long as I don't live in Australia?
So they'll be banning Hollywood action flics? No Die Hard 5 or Rush Hour 4 for Australia? I've seen a few people want to blow up studios after seeing a really bad movie. |
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