Australians who want uncensored access to the web
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Jan 2, 2008, 11:03:04 AM1/2/08
to australia.politics.moderated
Australians who want uncensored access to the web
EVERY Australian with an internet connection could soon have their web
content automatically censored.
The restrictions are planned by the Federal Government to give greater
protection to children from online pornography and violent websites.
Under the plan, all internet service providers will have to provide a
"clean" feed to households and schools, free of pornography and other
"inappropriate" material.
Australians who want uncensored access to the web will have to contact
their internet service provider and "opt out" of the service.
Online civil libertarians yesterday warned the freedom of the internet
was at stake, while internet providers were concerned the new measures
could slow the internet in Australia to a crawl.
They said it was a measure usually associated with oppressive regimes
and was no alternative to proper parental monitoring.
But Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said everything possible
had to be done to shield children from violent and pornographic online
material.
"We have always argued more needs to be done to protect children," he
said.
Senator Conroy said the clean feed, also known as mandatory ISP
filtering, would prevent users from accessing prohibited content.
"We will work with the industry to get the best policy," he said.
"(But) Labor is committed to introducing mandatory ISP filtering."
Senator Conroy said the Australian Communications and Media Authority
would prepare a "blacklist" of unsuitable sites.
It is unclear exactly what will be deemed inappropriate material.
The adoption of mandatory ISP filtering comes on top of the former
government's offer of free internet filtering software for home
computers.
Chairman of internet user group Electronic Frontiers Australia, Dale
Clapperton, said mandatory filtering eroded freedom and would not
improve online safety for children.
"China, Burma and Saudi Arabia and those type of oppressive countries
are the only ones that have seriously looked at doing something like
this," he said.
"In Australia, which is supposedly a liberal democracy, the Government
is saying that the internet is so full of this material that it must
protect us from it by trying to block it."
Mr Clapperton feared that parents would be lulled into a false sense
of security.
"Parents should not allow their children to use the internet
unsupervised," he said.
"Stuff that should be blocked will inevitably get through and stuff
that should not be blocked will not."
Family First senator Steve Fielding, who has campaigned for ISP
filtering, said he would be watching the Government "like a hawk" on
the issue.
"Australian families want more (internet protection) and deserve more
than they are currently getting, and this is a real test for the Rudd
Government," he said.
A report by the Australia Institute in 2003 showed 84 per cent of boys
and 60 per cent of girls using the internet had experienced unwanted
exposure to sexual material.
Visit
http://groups.google.com/group/australiapoliticsmoderated
EVERY Australian with an internet connection could soon have their web
content automatically censored.
The restrictions are planned by the Federal Government to give greater
protection to children from online pornography and violent websites.
Under the plan, all internet service providers will have to provide a
"clean" feed to households and schools, free of pornography and other
"inappropriate" material.
Australians who want uncensored access to the web will have to contact
their internet service provider and "opt out" of the service.
Online civil libertarians yesterday warned the freedom of the internet
was at stake, while internet providers were concerned the new measures
could slow the internet in Australia to a crawl.
They said it was a measure usually associated with oppressive regimes
and was no alternative to proper parental monitoring.
But Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said everything possible
had to be done to shield children from violent and pornographic online
material.
"We have always argued more needs to be done to protect children," he
said.
Senator Conroy said the clean feed, also known as mandatory ISP
filtering, would prevent users from accessing prohibited content.
"We will work with the industry to get the best policy," he said.
"(But) Labor is committed to introducing mandatory ISP filtering."
Senator Conroy said the Australian Communications and Media Authority
would prepare a "blacklist" of unsuitable sites.
It is unclear exactly what will be deemed inappropriate material.
The adoption of mandatory ISP filtering comes on top of the former
government's offer of free internet filtering software for home
computers.
Chairman of internet user group Electronic Frontiers Australia, Dale
Clapperton, said mandatory filtering eroded freedom and would not
improve online safety for children.
"China, Burma and Saudi Arabia and those type of oppressive countries
are the only ones that have seriously looked at doing something like
this," he said.
"In Australia, which is supposedly a liberal democracy, the Government
is saying that the internet is so full of this material that it must
protect us from it by trying to block it."
Mr Clapperton feared that parents would be lulled into a false sense
of security.
"Parents should not allow their children to use the internet
unsupervised," he said.
"Stuff that should be blocked will inevitably get through and stuff
that should not be blocked will not."
Family First senator Steve Fielding, who has campaigned for ISP
filtering, said he would be watching the Government "like a hawk" on
the issue.
"Australian families want more (internet protection) and deserve more
than they are currently getting, and this is a real test for the Rudd
Government," he said.
A report by the Australia Institute in 2003 showed 84 per cent of boys
and 60 per cent of girls using the internet had experienced unwanted
exposure to sexual material.
Visit
http://groups.google.com/group/australiapoliticsmoderated
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Jan 3, 2008, 12:09:00 PM1/3/08
to australia.politics.moderated
THE "clean feed" filtering system Communications Minister Stephen
Conroy hopes will halt internet porn has already been defeated by
British researchers.
Richard Clayton, of the University of Cambridge's Computer Laboratory,
said the innovative blocking system CleanFeed, devised by British
internet service provider BT, could be circumvented in a number of
ways.
"At first sight, it's an effective and precise method of blocking
unacceptable content," Mr Clayton said. "But there are a number of
issues to address as soon as one assumes that content providers or
consumers might make serious attempts to get around it."
The report is more bad news for those hoping to block violence and
pornography from their internet. Although filter salesmen talk up
their wares, the reality has never quite matched the industry hype.
Former communications minister Helen Coonan moved away from insisting
internet service providers offer filtering after a 2006 NetAlert study
showed the filters were expensive, difficult to set up, frequently
inaccurate and drastically slowed the network performance.
Six filters were tested under optimised conditions, but the best
responder resulted in an
18 per cent reduction in relative performance, while the worst cut
performance by 78 per cent.
"The better-performing filters can process data at between 30-80Mbps
(millions of bits per second), which would still provide sufficient
performance for a small ISP," the report said.
"However, for larger ISPs with faster upstream connections, the use of
such filters would severely reduce their performance levels."
Instead, Senator Coonan opted for providing families with free filters
for home
computers. But a teenager immediately bypassed the NetAlert anti-porn
filter, simply by assuming his parents' profile on the home PC.
The Internet Industry Association has consistently warned of the
technical difficulties involved in introducing such filters on ISP
servers.
IIA chief executive Peter Coroneos said any clean feed policy would
have to be balanced against the likely financial and performance
costs.
Internet users would face slower access to websites, as every search
request would have to be checked against official blacklists. And
although there are millions of pornographic websites, the system would
only block those listed.
Telstra BigPond spokesman Craig Middleton said yesterday: "We stand
alongside the IIA and other ISPs in the view that PC-based filtering,
in the hands of a responsible parent, is the only workable solution."
Warren Cann, executive director of the Parenting Research Centre in
Melbourne, said that although filters offered some protection, parents
still needed to monitor their children's activities online.
Meanwhile, a 2007 survey of internet filtering in public libraries
found available filters were unreliable and inaccurate, often
preventing access to legitimate content while allowing undesirable
content through
australian
.
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Conroy hopes will halt internet porn has already been defeated by
British researchers.
Richard Clayton, of the University of Cambridge's Computer Laboratory,
said the innovative blocking system CleanFeed, devised by British
internet service provider BT, could be circumvented in a number of
ways.
"At first sight, it's an effective and precise method of blocking
unacceptable content," Mr Clayton said. "But there are a number of
issues to address as soon as one assumes that content providers or
consumers might make serious attempts to get around it."
The report is more bad news for those hoping to block violence and
pornography from their internet. Although filter salesmen talk up
their wares, the reality has never quite matched the industry hype.
Former communications minister Helen Coonan moved away from insisting
internet service providers offer filtering after a 2006 NetAlert study
showed the filters were expensive, difficult to set up, frequently
inaccurate and drastically slowed the network performance.
Six filters were tested under optimised conditions, but the best
responder resulted in an
18 per cent reduction in relative performance, while the worst cut
performance by 78 per cent.
"The better-performing filters can process data at between 30-80Mbps
(millions of bits per second), which would still provide sufficient
performance for a small ISP," the report said.
"However, for larger ISPs with faster upstream connections, the use of
such filters would severely reduce their performance levels."
Instead, Senator Coonan opted for providing families with free filters
for home
computers. But a teenager immediately bypassed the NetAlert anti-porn
filter, simply by assuming his parents' profile on the home PC.
The Internet Industry Association has consistently warned of the
technical difficulties involved in introducing such filters on ISP
servers.
IIA chief executive Peter Coroneos said any clean feed policy would
have to be balanced against the likely financial and performance
costs.
Internet users would face slower access to websites, as every search
request would have to be checked against official blacklists. And
although there are millions of pornographic websites, the system would
only block those listed.
Telstra BigPond spokesman Craig Middleton said yesterday: "We stand
alongside the IIA and other ISPs in the view that PC-based filtering,
in the hands of a responsible parent, is the only workable solution."
Warren Cann, executive director of the Parenting Research Centre in
Melbourne, said that although filters offered some protection, parents
still needed to monitor their children's activities online.
Meanwhile, a 2007 survey of internet filtering in public libraries
found available filters were unreliable and inaccurate, often
preventing access to legitimate content while allowing undesirable
content through
australian
.
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http://groups.google.com/group/australiapoliticsmoderated
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