[Infowarrior] - Oz to implement mandatory internet censorship

[Richard Forno]

Australia to implement mandatory internet censorship
Article from: Herald Sun

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24568137-2862,00.html

October 29, 2008 12:02pm

AUSTRALIA will join China in implementing mandatory censoring of the  
internet under plans put forward by the Federal Government.

The revelations emerge as US tech giants Google, Microsoft and Yahoo,  
and a coalition of human rights and other groups unveiled a code of  
conduct aimed at safeguarding online freedom of speech and privacy.

The government has declared it will not let internet users opt out of  
the proposed national internet filter.

The plan was first created as a way to combat child pronography and  
adult content, but could be extended to include controversial websites  
on euthanasia or anorexia.

Communications minister Stephen Conroy revealed the mandatory  
censorship to the Senate estimates committee as the Global Network  
Initiative, bringing together leading companies, human rights  
organisations, academics and investors, committed the technology firms  
to "protect the freedom of expression and privacy rights of their  
users".

Mr Conroy said trials were yet to be carried out, but "we are talking  
about mandatory blocking, where possible, of illegal material."

The net nanny proposal was originally going to allow Australians who  
wanted uncensored access to the web the option of contacting their  
internet service provider to be excluded from the service.

Human Rights Watch has condemned internet censorship, and argued to  
the US Senate "there is a real danger of a Virtual Curtain dividing  
the internet, much as the Iron Curtain did during the Cold War,  
because some governments fear the potential of the internet, (and)  
want to control it"

Groups including the System Administrators Guild of Australia and  
Electronic Frontiers Australia have attacked the proposal, saying it  
would unfairly restrict Australians' access to the web, slow internet  
speeds and raise the price of internet access.

EFA board member Colin Jacobs said it would have little effect on  
illegal internet content, including child pornography, as it would not  
cover file-sharing networks.

"If the Government would actually come out and say we're only  
targeting child pornography it would be a different debate," he said.

The technology companies' move, which follows criticism that the  
companies were assisting censorship of the internet in nations such as  
China, requires them to narrowly interpret government requests for  
information or censorship and to fight to minimise cooperation.

The initiative provides a systematic approach to "work together in  
resisting efforts by governments that seek to enlist companies in acts  
of censorship and surveillance that violate international standards",  
the participants said.

In a statement, Yahoo co-founder and chief executive Jerry Yang  
welcomed the new code of conduct.

"These principles provide a valuable roadmap for companies like Yahoo  
operating in markets where freedom of expression and privacy are  
unfairly restricted," he said.

"Yahoo was founded on the belief that promoting access to information  
can enrich people's lives, and the principles we unveil today reflect  
our determination that our actions match our values around the world."

Yahoo was thrust into the forefront of the online rights issue after  
the Californian company helped Chinese police identify cyber  
dissidents whose supposed crime was expressing their views online.

China exercises strict control over the internet, blocking sites  
linked to Chinese dissidents, the outlawed Falun Gong spiritual  
movement, the Tibetan government-in-exile and those with information  
on the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.

A number of US companies, including Microsoft, Cisco, Google and  
Yahoo, have been hauled before the US Congress in recent years and  
accused of complicity in building the "Great Firewall of China".

The Australian Christian Lobby, however, has welcomed the proposals.

Managing director Jim Wallace said the measures were needed.

"The need to prevent access to illegal hard-core material and child  
pornography must be placed above the industry's desire for unfettered  
access," Mr Wallace said.