Did you hear the one about internet censorship?
The Australian government wants to introduce mandatory Internet filtering – that’s right, internet censorship. To do this they will require Australian ISPs to install and use dynamic filters of questionable accuracy that have actually been shown to slow data speeds considerably. Of course this won’t work – as if ISPs can examine all their traffic, as if ISPs can be made responsible for the data they deliver, and even if they could, anyone with half a brain can bypass filters of this kind. That’s just a joke really, but it’s not funny. The distressing thing is that there will be a blacklist of “prohibited” sites (who will maintain this? who has the power to decide what we can and can’t read?) There’s already speculation that material like gambling sites will be added to this. I’m worried that this seems to be passing quietly – without high profile debate, without the extensive media coverage it would get in a country like America (or any country that values free speech). I’m also worried that the Australian government is attempting to silence critics of the plan.
Monday, October 27th, 2008 @ 5:20 pm 
