Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today expressed its disappointment at the Federal Government’s decision to fund its mandatory “clean-feed” Internet in the 2008-09 federal budget.

“At a time when the Government is cutting services to fight inflation, it’s bewildering that they would decide to spend tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on a filter before feasibility trials are even complete,” said EFA spokesman Colin Jacobs. “Given the manifest impracticality of the clean-feed scheme, I’m sure this money could have been put to much better use,” he added.

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EFA supports the recently announced move for creation of an R18+ rating category for computer and video games. Currently, only video games which the government deems suitable for a 15-year-old can be sold in Australia, resulting in a censorship regime that is out of line with community standards and expectations.

The issue is to be discussed at the upcoming meeting of the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General on March 28. We encourage the attorneys-general to bring Australia into line with the rest of the developed world, and recognise the fact that adults play games too. Since most gamers are now over 18, there are no compelling reasons why games should be treated any differently to the rest of our entertainment media. Recent research has found the average age of the Australian gamer to be 28.

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Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today attacked a government plan, championed by Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, that would mandate “clean feed” filtered Internet connections to all homes and schools. This scheme, which will supposedly censor the Internet of pornography and other “inappropriate material”, goes further than the Coalition’s previous policies, by requiring individuals to opt-out of the scheme rather than request filtering from their service provider.

“Waving the ’save the children’ flag may be good politics, but it ignores serious technological problems which will likely cause the proposed scheme to fail,” said EFA Chair Dale Clapperton. “Furthermore, Australia is supposed to be a liberal democracy where adults have the freedom to say and read what they want, not just what the Government decides is ‘appropriate’ for them.” “These announcements smack of the condescending paternalism which contributed to the downfall of the Howard government,” Clapperton continued. “The proposals threaten the free speech rights of every Australian, and our concerns will not be silenced by Government sound bites equating free speech with access to child pornography.”

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The ALP government’s pre-election policy requiring all Internet Service Providers (”ISPs”) to implement a mandatory Internet filtering/blocking system has been reaffirmed by the Minister for Communications, Senator Conroy. This policy was first announced in March 2006 by Kim Beazley (then Leader of the Federal Opposition). EFA today attacked the government plan as onerous, ineffective, technically inept, and an affront to civil liberties. While EFA supports measures to provide filtering software to homes where it is requested, and to educate parents on monitoring their children’s online activities, we firmly believe that ISP based filtering will not make the Internet safe for children, and may even cause harm. If parents are deceived into believing that a ‘filtered’ Internet service is safe for children, they will be less likely to take sensible precautions such as supervising their children while they use the Internet.

For further information, see:

EFA analysis of the ALP proposal

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Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today slammed a Bill introduced into the Senate which would give members of the Australian Federal Police powers to ban access to Internet content.

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During a speech to Christian groups, the then Prime Minister John Howard announced a plan to introduce ISP-based filtering on an opt-in basis. The Minister’s formal announcement however, is largely devoted to announcing for the umpteenth time the National Filter Plan that is intended to subsidise PC-based filters. EFA has expressed its strong opposition to any form of ISP-based filtering, primarily on the grounds that it is a blunt instrument that introduces arbitrary and unaccountable censorship. A requirement to provide filtered services will also impose significant up-front and ongoing costs on all Australian ISPs and will further reduce access speeds. It will also expose them to legal liability when the filters inevitably fail to block inappropriate material. These costs will be passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices for Internet access. It remains unclear whether this sudden announcement is merely a political stunt to appease the religious right, but EFA will continue to lobby against any moves towards upstream Internet censorship.

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EFA has made a submission to the Senate Senate Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Committee Inquiry into the provisions of the Communications Legislation Amendment (Content Services) Bill 2007.

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EFA has issued an analysis of Labor’s recently announced scheme. We conclude that mandatory ISP filtering would not be effective in protecting children. PC based filtering remains more effective. Our analysis includes information about why that is so. Kim Beazley appears to have latched onto an ineffective and unworkable proposal issued by The Australia Institute 3 years ago and further promoted by the Family First Party 18 months ago. According to recent research commissioned by the Australian Internet safety advisory body, NetAlert, mandatory ISP filtering would still not be effective in protecting children and would lead to a significant reduction in network performance.

See also:

EFA’s Time Line of Mandatory ISP Filtering Proposals and Religious Right Group’s lobbying campaigns, 2003-2006.

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Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today expressed concern over the banning of a computer game dealing with graffiti and called for reform of the Australian censorship regime to bring it into line with community expectations. Under current censorship laws, the highest level rating that a computer game may receive is MA15+ (Mature Accompanied), whereas films may be classified R18+ (Restricted). This means that films deemed suitable only for adults can be legally sold in Australia, whilst computer games of a similar nature will be banned.

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