, 2009-02-13
The Australian government is considering requiring that Internet service providers in that country install filters which would prevent citizens from accessing tens of thousands of sites that contain "objectionable" material.
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It's actually much worse than described in your article. The ACMA blacklist is currently only about 1300 URLs. Currently it feeds into blacklists in some PC based filters sold in the Australian market. I'd expect this list to explode once it is universally applied via ISPs (being complaint system based)
The government is preparing testing of mandatory filtering with a list padded out to 10,000.
The shocking part of that list is the scope of it. It's based on a complaints system where the ACMA assesses complaints against our draconian definition of internet prohibited content. It is a secret list with specific legislation exempting it from Freedom of Information requests.
The mandatory censorship allows for material to be blocked that under our film and print ratings system includes MA15+ where it is sold commercially (material suitable for 15 year olds), R18+ (adult material that can include nudity, violence, simulated sex or adult concepts) X18+ (explicit sexual activity), RC (refused classification. For most material this is legal to own and view for most australian states but not legal to sell. Child pornography can form a subset of RC which of course is illegal to possess).
The ACMA is not required to submit material to our classifications board before making a determination.
An exact list of the criteria they can use for blacklisting can be found at
http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_311228
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Link to this comment: http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/columns/493/35388#35388