The Industry Standard - No opt-out of filtered Internet - Comments

The comments about comparing

Not important — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:00:48 -0700

The comments about comparing Chinese Gov to Australian Gov I think is completely unfair guys and gals, yes there is widespread censorship in China, but most if not all of it, is of political concern/views a good example "the Tienanmen square massacre or in some video games Tibet is seen as independent" which gets banned, and yes you can look at adult material in china its not censored, they are more concerned about political things not like the Australian Gov which seems to try and enforce "christian morals(I don't believe in god) and moral concern of its population whether they like it or not" in my opinion its just common sense and the rights of the adult individual, because the last time I checked this was a Democracy,and democracy SHOULD allow us to be racist if we CHOOSE,look at adult materials if we CHOOSE,protest and anti protest if we CHOOSE,play violent video-games if we CHOOSE etc etc the list could go on and on, so I for one will be against censorship of any kind.And democracy allows me to say this "I'm a firm believer the gov and censorship organizations are anti-democracy instead of serving the interest of the Majority of people who have spoken they only serve themselves and the small minority of people, what they have said and done and going to do was and is not in the interest of democracy and Australia or the majority of people"

I mean where risking our

Danny Bianchi — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:37:53 -0700

I mean where risking our computers to look at content like that..so why does it matter? I Mean calm down about this whole idea. Its the internet. Everyday theirs a new porn site up and running, what are they trying to do? block them all so no one under the age of 18 can enter? thats why they have a system called CREDIT CARDS

Hey, Aussies, fight for your

Richard Toddar — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 07:47:02 -0700

Hey, Aussies, fight for your rights! I don't want this slippery slope washing ashore in the U.S.!

I have worked in the

Paulie — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:54:38 -0800

I have worked in the Australian IT&T Industry for the past 15 years.
If this retarded, morally (sic) corrupt censorship gets wings then my wife and I will be taking our technology business (including our tax $) and moving to New Zealand. Where I believe free thought and enquiry are still considered virtues .
Kevin Rudd , you have proven yourself a facetious, smarmy tool of the Christian Right and I am honestly ashamed in having supported your election.

Paulie

Welcome to the Peoples

Anon — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 02:11:57 -0800

Welcome to the Peoples Republic of Australia -.-

I was actually against

Harvey Chuckles — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:24:24 -0700

I was actually against filtering the net until I read some of the responses in this forum. Makes you think. If the only ones complaining are the crazy people. Maybe we should filter it and stop them getting access to ....now lets see what are they worried about...porn, snuff video's, child pornography?
You certainly don't sound like the type that is upset because you might have less access to knowledge or an education!
Too bad there are no intelligent folk who have a better response than "F*ck you Rudd. Die in a hole" for instance. That guy should be more concerned about his own psychological state before worrying about any external issues.

Have a great day :)

Capt Cornflakes, You might

Iain — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:45:45 -0700

Capt Cornflakes,
You might want to chew on your own words, spell check doesn't hurt ;) Oh and opps, ive used a SMS smilie. As for other things, who cares about what people write, or how they say it, for the moment its FREE internet so do what you like! Its and open discussion board.

As for the filtering, its a joke. What does the government think they are trying to do? They certainly don't help anyone. Line their own pockets while hijacking Aussies in the "interest" of Australia.

Spend the money on somthing better like getting Australia back up on its own two feet!

While I agree with Anja, her

Capt Cornflakes — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:21:22 -0700

While I agree with Anja, her piece would have to be one of thw rost written comments on any web site for a long time.

Anja, use punctuation. Employ grammar. Spell correctly. Do NOT use mobile phone SMS text - it merely makes you look like a fool. Proof read your written work when complete.

Regarding internet filtering, I suggest all those concerned with this Draconian concept write to the Minister, as well as their local MP. If all we do it complain on online forums, nothing will be achieved.

Capt Cornflakes.

While I agree with Anja, her

Capt Cornflakes — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:21:21 -0700

While I agree with Anja, her piece would have to be one of thw rost written comments on any web site for a long time.

Anja, use punctuation. Employ grammar. Spell correctly. Do NOT use mobile phone SMS text - it merely makes you look like a fool. Proof read your written work when complete.

Capt Cornflakes.

I have always taught m kids

Anja — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:01:02 -0700

I have always taught m kids well and they know not to look at bad sights so are you trying to say i didnt do my job right as parrent mr rudd huh . my kids know not to look at bad sights or there wont be any internet for them but the only thing my kids do is talk with their friends on msn or play games not all kids parrents teach or allow their kids these sights . u are basically saying well we ar anyway if this goes through so would uyou like to look after them alttogether seeing wer not doing a good enuff job then welll uyou know how many kisds there are in australia well i think you going to be very busy man then ! thats all i can say well i love me kids so you aint getteing them hahahaha and i think im doing agreat job with my boys so if this goes through you are saying im not well i could youse some choice words but im not that way !

Hello I am a journalist for

Michelle — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:48:43 -0700

Hello

I am a journalist for The Fourth Estate, which is a national media and communications show broadcast on community radio.

I'm doing a story on this topic and would be interested in talking to people about how they feel about the cyber safety initative.

Please emil me: thefourthestate@2ser.com with your details as soon as possible if you would like to be interviewed.

It can be anonymous if you like!

Thankyou

Michelle

Hello I am a journalist for

Michelle Watts — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:47:08 -0700

Hello

I am a journalist for The Fourth Estate, which is a national media and communications show broadcast on community radio.

I'm doing a story on this topic and would be interested in talking to people about how they feel about the cyber safety initative.

Please emil me with your details as soon as possible if you would like to be interviewed.

It can be anonymous if you like!

Thankyou

Michelle

What next? will they block

me — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 14:15:33 -0700

What next? will they block websites of opposition parties? This is absolutely ridiculous.

I wonder if it will be as stupid as the other censors I have seen. At school I couldn't access any websites that give information about marijuiana, which I needed for a Health Assignment (though I COULD access websites that SOLD marijuana. yeah, great system you have there).
And other innocent websites (like job seeker websites) have been censored on the basis that they contain pornography.

It's a load of crap. We are moving backwards. Surely no-one that possesses a brain cell will support this.

I have worked for the

vulture — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 06:15:55 -0700

I have worked for the government all my life and the majority of people employed are a bunch of retards who think they know something. I understand the idea is to filter out illegal material but many other legal sites will be effected because an imcompetent government employee will be at the helm.

This was all very

GONZO — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:21:26 -0700

This was all very predictable - Rudd and his cronies have never respected our Democracy. Let's face the fact - politicians would love to have the power that the Chinese government has - they know best what is best for everybody - they just need power to implement without accountability.

This issue plus the pathetic response to the financial crisis should be enough to wake people up to Rudd - once he is a laughing stock his days will be numbered.

No opt-out of filtered Internet

IDG News Service — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:05:06 -0700

Australians will be unable to opt-out of the government's pending Internet content filtering scheme, and will instead be placed on a watered-down blacklist, experts say.

Under the government's $125.8 million Plan for Cyber-Safety, users can switch between two blacklists which block content inappropriate for children, and a separate list which blocks illegal material.

Pundits say consumers have been lulled into believing the opt-out proviso would remove content filtering altogether.

The government will iron-out policy and implementation of the Internet content filtering software following an upcoming trial of the technology, according to the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.

Department spokesman Tim Marshall said the filters will be mandatory for all Australians.

"Labor's plan for cyber-safety will require ISPs to offer a clean feed Internet service to all homes, schools and public Internet points accessible by children," Marshall said.

"The upcoming field pilot of ISP filtering technology will look at various aspects of filtering, including effectiveness, ease of circumvention, the impact on internet access speeds and cost."

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) contacted by Computerworld say blanket content filtering will cripple Internet speeds because the technology is not up to scratch.

Online libertarians claim the blacklists could be expanded to censor material such as euthanasia, drugs and protest.

Internode network engineer Mark Newton said many users falsely believe the opt-out proviso will remove content filtering.

"Users can opt-out of the 'additional material' blacklist (referred to in a department press release, which is a list of things unsuitable for children, but there is no opt-out for 'illegal content'", Newton said.

"That is the way the testing was formulated, the way the upcoming live trials will run, and the way the policy is framed; to believe otherwise is to believe that a government department would go to the lengths of declaring that some kind of Internet content is illegal, then allow an opt-out.

"Illegal is illegal and if there is infrastructure in place to block it, then it will be required to be blocked -- end of story."

Newton said advisers to Communications Minister Stephen Conroy have told ISPs that Internet content filtering will be mandatory for all users.

The government reported it does not expected to prescribe which filtering technologies ISPs can use, and will only set blacklists of filtered content, supplied by the Australia Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

EFA chair Dale Clapperton said in a previous article that Internet content filtering could lead to censorship of drugs, political dissident and other legal freedoms.

"Once the public has allowed the system to be established, it is much easier to block other material," Clapperton said.

According to preliminary trials, the best Internet content filters would incorrectly block about 10,0000 Web pages from one million.