Internet filter gets green light

The federal government is pushing ahead with its controversial plan to filter the
internet, saying illegal material can be blocked "with 100 per cent accuracy and
negligible impact on internet speed".
Labor will introduce legislation next year requiring all service providers to ban
"refused classification" material hosted on overseas servers.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy says RC material includes "child sex abuse
content, bestiality, sexual violence and the detailed instruction of crime and drug
use".
"Most Australians acknowledge there is some internet content which is not acceptable
in any civilised society," Senator Conroy told reporters, after giving the mandatory
filter the green light.
"It is important that all Australians, particularly young children, are protected
from this material."
The list of banned sites will be maintained by an independent body "at arms-length
from the government".
Senator Conroy said the list would be "compiled through a public complaints
mechanism" but the government will add sites containing "known child abuse material"
obtained from "highly regarded international agencies".
Currently, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is responsible
for issuing take-down notices for black-listed content hosted in Australia.
The government released on Tuesday the results of a filtering trial, claiming it
proved blocking sites was technically feasible.
"The live trial has shown that filtering of a defined list of URLs (web addresses)
can be done with 100 per cent accuracy and negligible impact on network performance,
despite the many claims that have been touted," Senator Conroy said.
Critics have argued the filter will slow internet speeds.
They also believe it's an attempt at censorship, and won't stop those hell-bent on
accessing illegal content.
Greens communications spokesman Scott Ludlam says the policy is a dud.
"The test results themselves say the filters will be able to be circumvented," he
told ABC Radio.
"So I don't know why the government is persisting with this policy."
Senator Ludlam also suggested the "internet censorship" legislation would have a
"bumpy" ride through the Senate.
Senator Conroy said Labor would introduce its draft laws by March, and the filter
would start 12 months after they were passed.
However, the opposition says it remains concerned the filter will be unworkable and
ineffective.
"Appropriate adult supervision and guidance should be front and centre of all online
safety efforts," coalition communications spokesman Tony Smith said in a statement.
"(But) while our reservations about the effectiveness of the (filter) proposal are
strong, we will examine and assess the detail as we have consistently said we
would."
Activist group GetUp argues the filter will hand control of the internet "to the
moral minority".
"Innocent people, such as a dentist from Queensland, have already been caught in the
ACMA blacklist," acting director Oliver MacColl said.
"The introduction of Senator Conroy's great firewall of Australia may lead to many
more innocent small business people being caught out."
The Australian Christian Lobby and Family First's Steve Fielding welcomed Tuesday's
announcement, arguing a filter would help protect children.
Leading telcos also offered support - albeit qualified.
Telstra said filtering sites was "feasible and practical" so long as the blacklist
was "limited to a defined number of URLs".
Optus similarly stated it was "technically feasible to block a finite list of
illegal content without significant impact on the customer's experience or network
performance".