October 20th, 2008
Australia is due to put into place a complete, two-tier system of mandatory Internet filtering.
The first of the filter levels is designed for children, to block inappropriate content. The second level affects all Internet connections in Australia, and will block any website that contains illegal material. Users can opt out of the first level, but the second can not be declined.
A government spokesman said of the plan: “[it] will require ISPs to offer a clean feed Internet service to all homes, schools, and public Internet points accessible by children.”
To follow through on this plan, the government will not be introduce new technologies, or specify which filtering technologies should be used. Instead, they will compose and distribute blacklisted sites, which the Internet Service Providers of Australia will be expected to filter.
Some ISPs have voiced concerns that the existing filtering systems are not yet capable to provide the level of blocking required. This technology gap may result in a drastic reduction of Internet speeds.
Some users and rights advocated have speculated that the sweeping range of the filtering system could have long-term threats to civil liberties. In a classic example of the slippery slope argument, one observer feared that the blacklist may grow to include sites about drugs, dissidents, or other topics deemed unfavourable.
However, as the proposition currently stands, the filtering system will only block illegal material for all, and inappropriate material for children. The implementation and success of the plan will be closely watched by ISPs, Internet users, child protection advocates, and civil rights watchdogs alike.
-Kai