Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today welcomed an announcement by Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey that the coalition will oppose any move to legislate mandatory internet censorship in Australia. On Thursday's Hack program on Triple J radio, Mr Hockey stated that "we believe the internet filter will not work and we believe it's flawed policy."

"We applaud Mr Hockey's announcement that the Liberal Party will vote against Labor's filter," said EFA Chair Colin Jacobs. "The Opposition are very welcome among the ranks of those many organisations and individuals that see the filter as a policy failure."

A mandatory censorship scheme remains Government policy. However, with The Greens long on record as opposing the internet censorship scheme, Mr Hockey's announcement means that Labor's legislation is effectively dead on arrival in the Senate.

"We call on Minister Conroy and the Gillard Government to now admit the mandatory filter policy is dead, and to move on to a debate more grounded in reality," said Jacobs. "The government must now listen to the experts, and get back to working on giving Australians access to better and faster broadband."

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Electronic Frontiers Australia today welcomed the delay in the Gillard Government's internet censorship policy but expressed disappointment that it is still on track to be implemented in the Government's next term.

In an announcement today, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy indicated that the filter will be delayed until a 12-month review of the "Refused Classification" category is completed in conjunction with the states.

"While we welcome a review of the RC category, this is just tinkering around the edges of the filter's problems," said EFA Chair Colin Jacobs. "Applying a classification scheme designed for books and movies to the internet was never going to work. Altering the definition of one category won't change the fact that the government will never, ever, be able to review enough web pages to make any difference to anyone."

The Minister also announced that Australia's 3 largest ISPs will be implementing a voluntary filter targeted only at child abuse material. "The industry has been trying to engage with the Minister for a long time, and we're glad he finally decided to listen. It's still not clear who will be helped by taking the next step to a compulsory government filter," said Jacobs. The Minister also announced several measures designed to improve transparency, but indicated the blacklist would remain secret.

"The Minister had an excellent chance today to let the filter die a natural death. Instead they've left the ailing policy on life support for another year. We still urge the Government to listen to the experts, drop the filter, and focus on improving broadband access for all Australians," said Jacobs.

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Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) has responded to the extraordinary challenge and attacks directed at it by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Senator Stephen Conroy in Question Time yesterday and today.

In a response to a question asked by Senator Sue Boyce about Australia recently being added to a watch list of countries with worrying Internet censorship trends by Reporters Without Borders, Senator Conroy accused EFA of misleading the public and international organisations.

EFA rejects these assertions. "We are aggressive in educating the public on the drawbacks of this and other policies that threaten our online freedoms, but take great pains to provide factual information and analysis to the Australian public," said EFA Vice-Chair Colin Jacobs. "If we have erred in any particular instance, then we welcome a correction. That said, we have carefully considered the legalities and technical issues surrounding the policy and unreservedly stand by our assessment. It will achieve nothing for parents and police, it will cost enormous amounts of money, and presents a real threat to our freedom of speech."

As an international watchdog of press freedom, Reporters Without Borders conduct their own research on events around the world. "It should go without saying that Reporters Without Borders have not been coached by EFA; they have come to that conclusion on their own," said Mr Jacobs. "Reporters Without Borders is a reputable, independent international organisation who is justifiably concerned about a tolerant and liberal democracy such as Australia taking the first steps down a path of secretive and automated censorship of the Internet."

In response to a follow-up question by Senator Boyce, Senator Conroy also challenged EFA to provide a quote where he had equated his critics as child pornography advocates. Two such instances are set out in a blog post on EFA's website at http://www.efa.org.au/2010/03/16/efa-responds-to-senator-conroy/.

"Nobody, including EFA, have ever argued that the filter is a bad idea because child pornography is not worth combating," said Mr Jacobs. "Our argument is and has always been that the filter will be ineffective in doing so yet comes at enormous cost. To rail against 'people' for equating 'freedom of speech with watching child pornography' is simply a cheap rhetorical trick. We trust that with legislation imminent, we can move past such distractions."

Accordingly, EFA hopes that Senator Conroy will now be willing to participate a national debate on the relative merits of the Government's policy. "We are still awaiting a solid defence of this policy that references any evidence, study, or reputable expert that demonstrates this filter will help Australian children," said Mr Jacobs. "We challenge the Minister to produce such evidence."

EFA welcomes the opportunity to participate in this national debate. "Instead of engaging in a rational and important debate on the issue of mandatory Internet censorship, Senator Conroy has opted to use parliamentary privilege to make attacks against EFA and its board," said Peter Black, EFA's campaign manager. "Contrary his attack yesterday, our Open Internet campaign seeks to give the Australian public all the facts they need to form an opinion on the Government's policy. Our goal is to ensure the Australian public know what they're in for."

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Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today welcomes the comments made by the Shadow Treasurer, the Hon. Joe Hockey MP, on the Government's proposal to effectively censor the Internet.

In a speech delivered at the Grattan Institute last night, Mr Hockey said that the Government's mandatory Internet filtering policy "is likely to be unworkable in practice."

"Mr Hockey correctly identified several of the fundamental problems in the Government's mandatory Internet filtering policy," said Peter Black, EFA's campaign manager. "Most importantly that the filter will not stop children from accessing inappropriate content and will not prevent criminals from accessing and distributing sexual abuse material."

Mr Hockey also recognised that he has personal responsibility as a parent. "If I want to stop my children from viewing other material that I feel is inappropriate then that is my responsibility to do something about it – not that of the government," said Mr Hockey.

"However, this is not just a matter of parental responsibility," said Black. "Parental supervision is actually the most effective way to protect children from accessing inappropriate content."

This is because the filter will not target X-rated pornography, which most parents wouldn’t want their children to view. In addition, the filter will do nothing to protect children from what parents are really concerned about, things like cyber-bullying, online predators, viruses, spam or the identity theft. It might also provide a false sense of security to parents, reducing effective monitoring of their children's online activities.

Mr Hockey was also rightly concerned about what the filter could be used in the future. "But more perniciously it is a scheme that will create the infrastructure for government censorship on a broader scale," said Mr Hockey. "Protecting liberty is about protecting freedoms against both known and future threats. Some may argue that we can surely trust a democratically-elected government in Australia to never try to introduce more wide-spread censorship. I am not so sure!"

EFA shares Mr Hockey's concerns. "One of our main concerns is how the list might expand in the future," said EFA Vice-Chair Colin Jacobs. "With pressure from the media and special interest groups, it's hard to imagine this government forever resisting the temptation to add to the list - let alone all future governments."

"We hope that the rest of the Coalition give this issue the same thought and consideration that Mr Hockey did," Black said. "If they do, they will also conclude that the Government would be better off focusing on increased education and law enforcement, instead of an impractical and costly policy of Government censorship."

Mr Hockey's speech coincided with a new campaign launched EFA this week, Lobby a Lib. "It is looking increasingly likely that our best chance to stop the filter from ever becoming law is to convince the Liberal Party to vote against in the Senate," said Black. "That is why we are encouraging people who disagree with the Government's impractical and costly policy of Government censorship, to visit or write to Liberal Party Members of Parliament or Senators."

The Lobby a Lib campaign is part of the broader Open Internet campaign, which is centred around a new website, OpenInternet.com.au, blog, and Facebook fan page, that together acts as campaign hub for all the different individuals and organisations that are campaigning against the Government’s mandatory Internet filtering policy.

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Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today welcomed the results of a recent survey that found Australian Internet users do not support the idea of mandatory Internet filtering.

The preliminary results of the Australian Broadband Survey 2009, conducted by Whirlpool (whirlpool.net.au), found that 91.8% respondents did not support the idea of mandatory Internet filtering.

The survey also found 83.4% of respondents said that the introduction of mandatory Internet filtering might affect their vote at the next Federal election.

“The results highlight widespread community disagreement with the Government’s plan,” said Peter Black, EFA’s campaign manager. “These results also show that Australians believe the Government would be better off focusing on increased education and law enforcement, instead of an impractical and costly policy of Government censorship.”

When asked what the Government should focus on in terms of internet safety, 81.8% supported educating parents, 63.9% said educating children, 43.7% said law enforcement, 42.1% said subsidising desktop filter software, and 33.5% said subsidising ISP-level opt-in filters, with only 3.2% supporting mandatory Internet filtering.

These preliminary results from the Australian Broadband Survey 2009 only include respondents aged 18 years of age or older. The survey was successfully completed and verified 21,775 times by respondents aged 18 years of age or older. The full results of the Survey are expected to be published soon.

“These results confirm that people who understand the issue overwhelming oppose the Government’s policy,” Black said. “The big challenge now is to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Australians, who perhaps aren’t particularly computer or Internet savvy.”

That is why last week EFA launched the Open Internet campaign, centred around a new website, OpenInternet.com.au, blog and Facebook fan page, to, to, that together will act as campaign hub for all the different individuals and organisations that are campaigning against the Governmentb s mandatory Internet filtering policy.

The Open Internet campaign marks an escalation of opposition to the Government’s policy, which will continue throughout the year. “Our goal is to ensure the Australian public know what they’re in for,” said Black. “It’s important that such a major and expensive policy gets the public scrutiny it deserves. And we believe that Open Internet portrays a positive and understandable message that will resonate with Australians who are yet to form a strong opinion on the Government’s policy.”

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Below is:

- Background information
- Contact details for media

Background:
* EFA’s Open Internet campaign
- http://openinternet.com.au/

* Electronic Frontiers Australia
- http://www.efa.org.au/

* Australian Broadband Survey 2009 Pre-Release Report
- The pre-release report has been redacted.  The full report will be available at Whirlpool (whirlpool.net.au) in the next few days.

About EFA:

Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc. (EFA) is a non-profit national organisation representing Internet users concerned with on-line rights and freedoms. EFA was established in 1994, is independent of government and commerce, and is funded by membership subscriptions and donations from individuals and organisations with an altruistic interest in promoting online civil liberties.

Media Contacts:

Mr Peter Black
Campaign Manager
Phone: 0421 636 496
Email: pete.black at efa.org.au

Mr Colin Jacobs
EFA Vice-Chair
Phone: 0402 631 955
Email: cjacobs at efa.org.au

Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today welcomed the widespread opposition to the the Rudd Government's mandatory Internet filtering plan.

"There are dozens of organisations and groups that are working against the Government's plan to censor the Internet, highlighting the depth of community disagreement with the plan," said Peter Black, EFA's campaign manager.

EFA has launched a new website, OpenInternet.com.au, blog and Facebook fan page, to act as a campaign hub for these different groups.

"We hope that the Open Internet campaign will help unite all these different groups, so that we can work together to stop the Government's plan," Black said. "The big challenge for all of the opposition groups now is to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Australians, who perhaps aren't particularly computer or Internet savvy."

EFA is concerned that the actions of Anonymous are only hurting the movement's cause.

"EFA condemns the denial of service attacks orchestrated by Anonymous, as they damage the cause by playing to stereotypes of filter opponents as juveniles motivated by a desire to ensure the availability of Internet pornography," said EFA Vice-Chair Colin Jacobs. "They serve no purpose but to give the Government the moral high ground, and distract from arguments about the ineffectiveness of the policy and its ramifications for free speech."

EFA also rejects any attempt to legitimise the actions of Anonymous.

"We are aware that Anonymous is now organising street protests on 20 February, dubbed Project Freeweb," said Black. "However, EFA does not support these protests. Any attempt to legitimise the actions of Anonymous only makes it easier for the Government to dismiss the opposition to its filter as fringe extremists."

"While we understand the frustrations that the Anonymous members feel, we would instead encourage people to contact their local Member of Parliament, or participate in the National Day Action activities being planned by Block the Filter and Stop Internet Censorship on 6 March," said Black.

The Open Internet website has a list of 10 practical things that people can do to oppose the filter.

The Open Internet campaign marks an escalation of opposition to the plan, which will continue throughout the year. "Our goal is to ensure the Australian public know what they're in for," said Black. "It's important that such a major and expensive policy gets the public scrutiny it deserves. And we believe that Open Internet portrays a positive and understandable message that will resonate with Australians who are yet to form a strong opinion on the Government's policy."

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Electronic Frontiers Australia today launched a new campaign against the Rudd Government's mandatory Internet filtering plan.

The Open Internet campaign emphasises that Australians want an Open Internet that is free from an impractical and costly policy of Government imposed mandatory Internet filtering.

"This policy has caused considerable anxiety amongst Australian Internet users," said EFA Vice-Chair Colin Jacobs. "The idea that the Government will be inserting itself in every Internet connection in the country is a tough one to swallow, especially without a workable policy goal behind it."

"Australians support an Open Internet that empowers individuals to decide what they view online," said Peter Black, EFA's campaign manager. "Australians support an Open Internet that trusts parents to monitor what their children view online."

The campaign is centred around a new website, OpenInternet.com.au, blog, and Facebook fan page, that together will act as campaign hub for all the different individuals and organisations that are campaigning against the Government's mandatory Internet filtering policy.

The policy, which will see all Australian Internet connections subject to a Government-controlled blacklist of banned sites, will apply to all Australian Internet connections within 12 months of the legislation being passed. Although originally touted as a "cyber-safety" policy, the resulting filter will not filter out all material unsuitable for children, instead targeting a select list of "refused classification" material, which would include content dealing with crime, drugs and certain types of adult material.

Concerns with the list include its broad scope, its secret nature, and the inability of Australian businesses to know if and when they have been placed on the list. "One of our main concerns is how the list might expand in the future," said Jacobs. "It's hard to imagine both this government and every government forever, resisting temptation from special interest groups as well as electoral and media pressure."

The Open Internet campaign marks an escalation of opposition to the plan, which will continue throughout the year. "Our goal is to ensure the Australian public know what they're in for," said Black. "It's important that such a major and expensive policy gets the public scrutiny it deserves. And we believe that Open Internet portrays a positive and understandable message that will resonate with Australians who are yet to form a strong opinion on the Government's policy."

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Electronic Frontiers Australia today announced that over 500 web Australian sites will be "blacked out" on Australia day in protest against the Rudd government's mandatory Internet filtering plan. Included among them are the Australian Greens, an Internet service provider, media outlets, and hundreds of other Australian businesses and organisations.

"This policy has caused considerable anxiety amongst Australian Internet users," said EFA Vice-Chair Colin Jacobs. "The idea that the Government will be inserting itself in every Internet connection in the country is a tough one to swallow, especially without a workable policy goal behind it."

The "Great Australian Internet Blackout" was the brainchild of activist Jeff Waugh, and is endorsed and supported by EFA. For a week starting on Australia Day, participating web sites will appear to turn black and will display a one-time message to visitors explaining the Government's plan and offering them more information before allowing visitors to continue as normal.

The plan, which will see all Australian Internet connections subject to a Government-controlled blacklist of banned sites, will apply to all Australian Internet connections within 12 months of the legislation being passed. Although originally touted as a "cyber-safety" policy, the resulting filter will not filter out all material unsuitable for children, instead targeting a select list of "refused classification" material, which would includes content dealing with crime, drugs and certain types of adult material.

Greens Communications spokesman Senator Scott Ludlam, in deciding to support the campaign, said "The Government's plan will not protect children, will do nothing to crack down on criminal activity online, and sets a dangerous precedent of centralised net censorship."

Concerns with the list include its broad scope, it's secret nature, and the inability of Australian businesses to know if and when they have been placed on the list. "One of our main concerns is how the list might expand in the future," said Jacobs. "It's hard to imagine this and all future governments responding to special interests, electoral pressure and the news cycle only with restraint forevermore."

The Internet Blackout on Australia Day marks an escalation of opposition to the plan, which will continue throughout the year. "Our goal is to ensure the Australian public know what they're in for," said Peter Black, EFA's campaign manager. "It's important that such a major and expensive policy gets the public scrutiny it deserves."

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Electronic Frontiers Australia today expressed its surprise and concern that
the operators of the satirical protest site StephenConroy.com.au were given
only three hours to justify their "connection to" the domain name. Under
Australian domain name regulations, it is quite common for website operators
to be required to identify their reasons for operating under an Australian
domain name, but it is unusual for operators to be offered so little time to
provide those reasons.

"While we understand some of the quite sensible reasons behind the
restrictive rules on Australian domain names, we are surprised at the level
of energy with which auDA has pursued this particular matter", said EFA
spokesperson Geordie Guy. "At a time when criticism of the Minister around
the government's proposed mandatory filtering scheme is so prolific, it's
easy for Australians to be cynical about such assertive action from the
domain authority particularly when we understand that other cases are
usually afforded much more consideration."

This incident reflects worrying concerns about the power that private domain
name regulators have to silence critical political speech without going
through legitimate legal channels. In 2006, a similar incident saw Melbourne
IT cancel the domain registration for JohnHowardMP.org created by well-known
political commentator Richard Neville, a move that was instigated on advice
from the Australian Government. Cancellation silenced a satirical website
that featured a parody speech from Mr Howard that apologised for Australia's
involvement in the most recent Iraq war.

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Electronic Frontiers Australia today welcomed the release of the Government's Internet filtering report but predicted that the debate is far from over.

"There are few surprises in this document," said EFA spokesperson Colin Jacobs. "Given the pilot's modest goals, it was designed from the beginning to pass. Although it may address some technical issues, what it leaves out is far more important - exactly what will be blocked, who will decide, and why is it being attempted in the first place?"

The report found that generally, ISPs were able to block a government-provided blacklist of several thousand web sites without a major impact on service levels. It also found that circumvention was trivial for motivated users, calling the effectiveness of the proposal into question.

The report indicated that there were costs associated with filtering, which would hit smaller ISPs the hardest. The expected costs for Australian Internet users were not addressed in the report, nor were other alternatives such as increasing support for home-based filters. Although several ISPs also tested filtering beyond the government blacklist, the report finds they were only 84% accurate in the best case.

It's not unexpected that the censorship proved technically possible. EFA notes that, since the election, the government's "cyber-safety" plan has shifted away from providing tools to shield minors on the web to a black list of "almost exclusively RC (Refused Classification)" content aimed at adults.

"The Government knows this plan will not help Australian kids, nor will it aid in the policing of prohibited material. Given the problems in maintaining a secret blacklist and deciding what goes on it, we're at a loss to explain the Minister's enthusiasm for this proposal," said Jacobs.

"We'll be interested to see how the Internet service providers respond. We know they are critical of having such intrusive Government interference in their networks," he added.

Although the minister has hailed the pilot a success, many concerns about the proposal remain ignored. Neither draft legislation nor a comprehensive policy document have yet been released to the Australian public, though legislation is expected in 2010.

"Successful technology isn't necessarily successful policy. We're yet to hear a sensible explanation of what this policy is for, who it will help, and why it is worth spending so much taxpayers' money on."

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Background:

• Internet Service Provider (ISP) Content Filtering Pilot Report
• EFA’s No Clean Feed campaign

About EFA:

Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc. (EFA) is a non-profit national
organisation representing Internet users concerned with on-line
rights and freedoms. EFA was established in 1994, is independent
of government and commerce, and is funded by membership subscriptions
and donations from individuals and organisations with an altruistic
interest in promoting online civil liberties.

Media Contacts:

Mr Colin Jacobs
EFA Vice-Chair
Phone: 0402 631 955
Email: cjacobs at efa.org.au

Mr Geordie Guy
EFA Board Member
Phone: 0415 797 142
Email: gguy at efa.org.au

Edit 19/3 4.00pm: The Minister has refuted the authenticity of the list in a media release. Indications are that the leaked list contains the ACMA list plus sites chosen by the filter vendor. In any case, comments about individual sites on the list should therefore be treated with caution.

Electronic Frontiers Australia today hailed the leaking of the government's secret internet blacklist as a "wake-up call for Australians concerned about secret censorship". The blacklist, which appeared on the whistle-blower site Wikileaks, is compiled by the Australian Communications and Media Authority and distributed to the vendors of approved internet filters, but is otherwise secret.

"The leaking of the list has confirmed some of our worst fears," said EFA Vice-Chair Colin Jacobs. "This was bound to happen, especially as mandatory filtering would require the list to be distributed to ISPs all around the country. The Government is now in the unenviable business of compiling and distributing a list which includes salacious and illegal material and publicising those very sites to the world."

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Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today welcomed widespread opposition to Internet censorship proposals by the government.

"The forthcoming protests by the Digital Liberty Coalition and the petition by GetUp! show the depth of community disagreement with the government on this issue", said EFA spokesperson Danny Yee.

The proposed censorship system would target web material that would be legal in other media. "Australians are unhappy with existing censorship of computer games and films. The last thing they want is even more stringent censorship of online content."
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Electronic Frontiers Australa (EFA) today expressed concern about a lawsuit filed against Internet Service Provider iiNet in the Federal Court. A consortium of media companies have sued the ISP for allegedly allowing its users to download infringing movies and TV shows by failing to terminate their accounts after allegations of infringement by the copyright industry.

"This lawsuit is the latest attempt by the movie industry to bully Internet Service Providers into becoming copyright police," said EFA spokesperson Nicolas Suzor. "ISPs are not in a position to monitor and terminate internet access to users based upon unsubstantiated threats from copyright owners, and should not be asked to do so."
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Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today expressed alarm at the news that the Government's “Clean Feed” Internet censorship plan will not allow Australian adults to opt-out.

The filter, which will be mandatory for all Australians, was initially touted as a “cyber-safety” measure for homes with children. However, recent comments by experts have revealed the existence of a second, secret black list, that would apply even to homes that managed to opt out of the child-safe filtering scheme.

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Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today expressed its concern about the lack of transparency in the development of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). EFA is also troubled by the little information that is available about the substantive content of the proposed plurilateral agreement, which threatens to dramatically alter the copyright balance in favour of corporate rights owners, impose significant liability on Internet Service Providers, and require the institution of invasive surveillance and filtering.

EFA Chair Dale Clapperton slammed the negotiation process. “Negotiations for ACTA have been conducted secretly. The public have a right to be involved in the development of measures which will significantly alter their legal rights. So far, only copyright owners have been involved in this process, and the outcome will undoubtedly favour their interests over the legitimate interests of users and reusers of copyright material.”

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Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today labelled a recent government trial of ISP-based Internet filtering a failure.

The recently released ACMA report entitled "Closed Environment Testing of ISP-Level Internet Content Filtering" showed that of the six unnamed ISP-based filters evaluated:

• One filter caused a 22% drop in speed even when it was *not* performing filtering;
• Only one of the six filters had an acceptable level of performance (a drop of 2% in a laboratory trial), the others causing drops in speed of between 21% and 86%;
• The most accurate filters were often the slowest;
• All filters tested had problems with under-blocking, allowing access to between 2% and 13% of material that they should have blocked; and
• All filters tested had serious problems with over-blocking, wrongly blocking access to between 1.3% and 7.8% of the websites tested.

Despite this report highlighting the inaccuracy of these filters and the loss of performance caused by their use, Senator Conroy announced the government will press ahead with a real-world pilot program in furtherance of Labor's pre-election commitment to force all Australian ISP's to filter their customers' Internet access.
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