Communications Minister Stephen Conroy had entered discussions with Google to block access to video content that was not technically feasible to filter at the ISP level.
They who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Google and Yahoo have joined two Australian organisations calling for a "rethink" of the country's controversial internet filter plans.
The Australian government has announced proposals to introduce a mandatory filter which would block all RC (Refused Classification) content.
The groups argue that the subjects covered by RC material are too wide-ranging for a blanket ban.
They also warn that the filter will not "effectively protect children".
They claim this is because hardcore material, specifically that featuring children, tends to appear on chatrooms and peer-to-peer networks which are more difficult to filter.
The signatories include the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) and the Inspire Foundation, which encourages young people to get online.
ALIA's Executive Director Sue Hutley said that blanket bans on material through filtering have been "shown to trap legitimate information and adversely affect valid internet access and performance".
The statement on the ALIA website adds that a report about government trials of the filter acknowledged the strain of filtering sites with very high traffic.
Dealing with sites such as YouTube could "cause additional load on the filtering infrastructure and subsequent performance bottlenecks," they claim.
Ms Hutley warns that the current filter proposals would create a "false sense of security" for Australian web users.
"We are directing our support for national cybersafety education and increased funding for policing," she said.
The filter, first announced by Stephen Conroy (Australia's Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) in 2008, has proved controversial.
Groups including Systems Administrators Guild of Australia (SAGE-AU) and Electronic Frontiers Australia have spoken out against it, and the topic has trended highly on Twitter.
On 10 and 11 February an activist group called Anonymous attacked several official Australian government websites in protest, taking them offline for short periods of time.
I actually cannot believe that this sort of a measure is being allowed and so many people do not see it as a major problem. This is not a way to deal with child pornography, but merely a way to win votes by allowing the public to feel safer under the guise that measures like this will make all the pedophiles vanish.
those who would sacrifice freedom for safety shall recieve neither
^
Interesting read.
I'm shocked at the things they are deeming as worthy of censorship, especially the part about banning any pornography containing an adult woman with an A-cup breast size, as they say it encourages pedophilia?
Encourages pedophilia? What the fuck does that even suggest, by watching lots of porn with small breasted, 18+ year old women you'll somehow become a pedophile? 8) Are they seriously that stupid? Your either a pedophile or you're not, do they honestly think they can just stop these people from having these sick thoughts/desires by removing some types of pornography? (not including child porn obviously, that should be targeted) I suppose they'll be censoring midget porn too![]()
When will these foolish people, obviously driven by religious ideals and also the government as a whole realise they cannot dictate morality.
Sorry if I'm raining on the outrage parade, but the ban on porn containing small breasted women is a myth:
http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/01/29/has-australia-really-banned-small-breasts/
The ban is overall on women who are intentionally made to look under 18. There's no blanket ban on the basis of cup size.