Today’s announcement by Telecommunications Minister Stephen Conroy states that the censorship regime will be mandatory, although people will be able to opt-out of it. The problem of course then becomes if you opt-out questions will be asked as to why you want out, which in itself may lead to Government monitoring.
To be censored by the Australian Government is “pornography and inappropriate material.” X rated pornography is illegal online in Australia, as are casino style internet gambling, certain forms of “hate” speech and R rated computer games. BitTorrent would be a possibility, even if certain downloads for personal use may be legal under Australian law, sharing those downloads would not be. How far “inappropriate material” may extend was not made clear, for example questioning Government policy where it comes to Aboriginal people could be deemed to be discrimination under Australian law and hence blocked by the censorship regime. Worst still, bloggers or those (such as forum owners) who allow users to comment or post could find themselves blocked under this proposal should someone say or post the wrong thing. If there is one certainty in any country that implements broadscale censorship, once they start blocking content it doesn’t stop, and certainly every do-gooder group and special interest lobbyist will be wanting the Government to add to the list.
In fact, it's not merely idiotic, it's downright disturbing.
There'll be the Official Government Approved Internet (censorship test: is this content appropriate for 12 year olds?), and if you're so unpatriotic and subversive that you want access to anything else then you can ask... but we'll be watching you. Very closely.
And so will every government of the country, of every political stripe, from now on.
Hooray!
Mr Conroy even gave us a sneak peak at how that kind of argument would henceforth go:
"If people equate freedom of speech with watching child pornography, then the Rudd-Labor Government is going to disagree."
You want the internet we don't censor? You must like child pornography! LOCK UP THE PERVERT!
It's also a step backwards in terms of internet cost and internet speed.
There is also a potential cost involved to Australian Internet users. The previous Government regularly cited feedback from ISP’s stating that the cost of implementing a “clean feed” would be passed onto internet users, who already pay some of the highest internet access costs in the Western world for on average slow services.
And for you to sneakily announce this over the New Year period is beneath contempt.
UPDATE GrodsCorp has a theory. A theory involving Labor giving Mr 1.9% Fielding something he wants, in order that he'll give them something they want later in the year: ie, his deciding Senate vote.
Of course, that "deciding" Senate vote only works if the Greens vote with the ALP and the Liberals vote against it. (Fielding has one vote - the Greens have five.) The Greens and the Liberals voting together could block this travesty of a policy. I wouldn't be surprised if the Greens did... but I'd bet my brother's life that the Liberals will prove they're still just as hostile to civil liberties as they ever were by voting for it.
