As reported widely in both the broadcast and multicast media, the NSW government is attempting to introduce new laws that will impose heavy fines and jail penalties on Internet users and service providers. These laws are highly innappropriate, easily abused and technologically unenforceable.
The new laws cannot affect criminals who use the Internet, because such criminals will easily and undetectably protect their activities via steganography and anonymity. The new laws cannot protect children from pornographic content, because 99% of content providers live in jurisdictions outside of NSW, and in fact outside of Australia.
However the NSW laws will serve to make Internet Service Provision illegal in this state, as no service provider has any ability to prevent illegal material on the Internet from being loaded down by any of their users. They will also serve to make every NSW Internet user vulnerable to unlimited legal harassment by criminals from any part of the world, as well as by members of the notoriously corrupt NSW police.
These laws threaten the existence of the online service industry in NSW. They threaten the livelihoods of thousands of people across the state. They peddle to technological illiteracy and broadcast media sensationalism. They can bring no benefit to the people of NSW, but they will cost the state many hundreds of millions of dollars in lost growth and services. They are an affront to freedoms of communication similar to the practices of book-burners and totalitarians.
On Monday, May 27, at lunchtime, 12.30, concerned citizens are encouraged to gather in the Sydney Domain. At 1 pm we will march on the NSW parliament. This will be an entirely non-violent protest, and all police instructions to disperse will be attended. You are encouraged to smile, be polite and friendly, and have a good time - bring some food and music if you like. But please don't let these technologic- ally naive and destructive laws be enacted without protest.
You are encouraged to copy and distribute this message to your colleagues, friends and families. By all means do tip off the press and broadcast media too - let's tell the nitwits who are pushing these idiot measures know that this is an important issue, one that won't go away, and one that will lose them votes among a growing and active segment of the NSW population.
Don't let it happen here!
© Copyright 1996 Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc.
Last updated 15 April 1996 by
Jonathon Coombes.