Internet Filter Scheme Raises Controversy in Australia

A government filter system to block illegal content in Australia has encountered strong opposition from Internet advocacy groups and industry experts.

The US$82-million official plan intends to block some 10,000 illegal web sites, including those containing child pornography and terrorist materials. But groups opposing the scheme claim it will slow down browsers and do little to stop the undesirable content.

The International Herald Tribune:

The government says the list [of web sites], which is not available to the public, includes only illegal content, mostly child pornography. But critics worry that the filter could be used to block sites focused on what some consider controversial topics, like gambling or euthanasia.

"Even if the scheme is introduced with the best of intentions, there will be enormous political pressure on the government to expand the list," said Colin Jacobs, the vice chairman of Electronic Frontiers Australia, a technology advocacy firm. "We worry that the scope of the list would expand at a very rapid rate."
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More than 85,000 users have also signed an online petition created by GetUp, an advocacy group that calls the mandatory filter "a serious threat to our democratic values."

Some industry experts have also criticized the plan.

Mark White, the chief operating officer at iiNet, one of the largest Australian ISPs, said the filter would have a limited impact because it would not monitor illegal activity on peer-to-peer or file-sharing networks, where most child pornography and other illicit content is exchanged. The filter would also slow Internet browsing speeds for all regardless of whether they were trying to access forbidden sites, he said. iiNet has agreed to take part in the trial.

Those opposed to the plan cite the government's own research showing that some filters slow browsers down up to 87 percent and that, even though more than 90 percent of illegal sites do get blocked, some 3 percent of legitimate sites also get caught in the filter.

Backers of the plan, on the other hand, insist nobody can blame the government for trying to enforce the existing law.

"The laws that mandate upper speed limits do not stop people from speeding," said Clive Hamilton, a senior ethics professor at the Australian National University. "Does that mean that we should not have those laws?

The government, meantime, has launched a website to gather public opinion about the controversy.