The Push To Gag The Internet

Local News, By icemoka, 29th October, 2008

The Federal Government is proposing a bill that would result in internet censorship to all Australians.

“We are talking about mandatory blocking, where possible, of illegal material,” Senator Stephen Conroy, the Broadband, Communications, and Digital Economy Minister told the Senate Estimates Committee.

“The Federal Government’s $44.2 million dollar proposal deals with two specific categories,” said Conroy. “The first part requires certain internet filtering for all Australians; the second being optional, where clean filtering will be provided to those who want adult material to be censored.”

Conroy has said in the past that the new measures were established with the sole purpose of protecting children from seeing inappropriate and violent material on the internet at their school and households. But can’t this just be managed by the adults in charge of the internet connection?

In addition, Conroy said he was not sure what information the FED would consider ‘censored material’ under the new filter if the bill is passed. However, the first sites that look to be at the top of the list are those dealing with issues surrounding euthanasia and pro-anorexia, and there’s speculation that sites dealing with sexuality or gender issues could find themselves censored also.

The Systems Administrators Guild of Australia and Electronic Frontiers Australia have raised concerns, stating that the new proposal would not only unfairly prohibit our access to the web, but it would also slow down our already lagging internet speeds and increase the price of internet access.

The previous internet censorship plan gave people a choice as to whether or not they wanted to participate. If someone wanted uncensored internet system in their home all they had to do was call their internet service provider. If this bill gets through, you won’t be given that choice.