digg

Facebook Connect Join Digg About
See the original image at arstechnica.com

Australian ISPs pan government-mandated 'Net filtering plan

arstechnica.com — As if Australians weren't riled up enough over their government's Internet filtering initiative, the level of discontent has risen amid recent revelations that certain filters will not be optional, as citizens were first led to believe. Criticism is building against Australia's Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, and now Australia's ISPs are jo

Who dugg this? Made popular Nov 12, 2008

Digg DudeWhat is Digg?

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. Digg surfaces the best stuff as submitted and voted on by the community. Take the Tour to learn more.

167 Comments

show profanity settings
expand all
  • inactive, on 11/11/2008, -1/+73Ah, don't you just love the magic words... "To protect children". ***** the ACA!
  • chrisduser, on 11/12/2008, -0/+71Is this day and age, uncensored Internet should be a fundamental human right. ***** censorship.
  • inactive, on 11/12/2008, -0/+46***** CONROY
  • dborgir, on 11/12/2008, -0/+38oh ***** off government
  • antarctica7, on 11/11/2008, -1/+31Sure, push your population into using vpn services with servers in other countries. They can throw as much money as they want at the project and it will still be child's play to bypass all filters.
  • Homercles12345, on 11/12/2008, -0/+30Links
    http://nocleanfeed.com/
    http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t ...

    Videos
    Senator Conroy talking about this in the Senate - http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=OUohfIhFET8
    Angry Aussie - http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=eXSvzvQC5v0&feature= ...
    Hitler's opinion - http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=tH35CVig3fQ
  • marshallpeck, on 11/12/2008, -0/+29***** the ACMA
  • Cyonix, on 11/12/2008, -0/+26Write to your local member of government, online petitions aren’t going to do anything.
  • alchemist27, on 11/12/2008, -0/+26"This is the worst Communications Minister we've had in the 15 years since the [internet] industry has existed"

    ***** OATH
  • elvis699, on 11/11/2008, -0/+26This edge of the wedge....
  • darienphoenix, on 11/12/2008, -2/+27If you're implicating bribery (I'm not sure what else you could mean), the reason Labor is trying to push this through against all common sense is because they need Family First Senator Nick Fielding on their side in order to get any legislation through the Senate, unless they can get bipartisan support from the Liberals.

    Nick Fielding is a Christian nanny-state person (Family First is a Christian party), and is very pro-internet filtering.

    It's a dumb idea all round, but you should at least understand the reason the Australian Government (Labor) is pushing this.
  • netneutrality, on 11/11/2008, -3/+25"They're not listening to the experts, they're not listening to the industry, they're not listening to consumers"

    When do governments ever?

    That they mandate filtering as a way of protecting children from seeing inappropriate content is as ironic as those child-protective caps on bottles, because it'll be the tech-savvy young teens who'll be the first to explain how to send HTTP requests over SSL tunnels to servers in other countries. And then simplified instructions will be on thousands of blogs only a Google search away.

    I might still support the other level of filtering that they're advocating to reduce child abuse if only it had the slimmest chance of making a difference. But pedophiles share files in hidden, encrypted, IP-only, invitation-only darknets. Tech solutions won't help at all. Such groups go undetected for years until law enforcement personnel leverage human fallibility to infiltrate the groups and catch hundreds or thousands of pedophiles at once.

    But no, governments won't listen. What are the chances that no future government will ever decide to start using the system to censor public dissent? Anything that they decide (sans judge or jury) is 'illegal' gets blocked. Expect all torrent indexes to be added to the mandatory list too.
  • spyd3rweb, on 11/12/2008, -0/+21How long till we have internet cops everywhere munching donuts and issuing tickets.
  • inactive, on 11/11/2008, -1/+22Damn, time to edit is up, but:

    http://petitions.takingitglobal.org/oznetcensorshi ...

    Please, for the love of god, sign it.
  • MariusAgricola, on 11/11/2008, -0/+20Why would he conduct a pilot test if he didn't intend to implement it, should it succeed? That would make the pilot test an intentional waste of money. For that alone, I am unwilling to give him the benefit of the doubt.
  • notsee, on 11/12/2008, -0/+20After this thing goes through, would Australians be able to view this particular news story or would it be censored as well. . . . ?
  • inactive, on 11/12/2008, -0/+20Actually, I'd say it's turning more into a fascist country. More and more of what should be the government's job is being contracted out to third parties.
  • inactive, on 11/12/2008, -0/+20Great to see so many Aussies venting on digg, yes indeed ***** Conroy.

    I cant believe the Labour Party (more left than the Democrats) is pulling this *****. They were elected on a mandate of progressive policies, what the ***** happened, this is far right stuff, grrr.

    They should be investing in fibre not filters.
  • Mujokan, on 11/12/2008, -0/+19How can they even afford to do this in the current economy?
  • CrazyChair, on 11/12/2008, -0/+19It's so bloody annoying. The money would be much better spent on educating ignorant parents and funding the police to catch child predators. Instead they're throwing money at something that is doomed to fail but will give morons a false sense of security.
  • Sprae, on 11/12/2008, -4/+22Australia is either turning into a communist or an Islamic country. Since when does blanket legislation help anyone? Regardless of how you filter, ban or criminalize "questionable" content, children who are more technical gifted will be access it and re-distribute it.
  • noisymime, on 11/12/2008, -0/+18Can't we ***** A Current Affair as well? I hate that show.
  • bonez56, on 11/12/2008, -0/+17I think you mean the ACMA.
  • larmes, on 11/12/2008, -0/+16On a movie/doco last night in Australia (Foxtel), Salman Rushdie appeared. One of his quotes was "if you don't fight for your freedoms - someone will take them away". Some of us are trying to fight this filter Down Under... Let's hope we win.
  • idontlikeyou2, on 11/12/2008, -0/+1683 million dollars. I don't think they intend to stop at the pilot stage
  • netneutrality, on 11/12/2008, -0/+15They wouldn't be able to catch it all. And we all know what happens when people try to suppress information on the web. It makes people angry, and defiant, and the information grows exponentially and floods the tubes.
  • kushalone, on 11/11/2008, -3/+18I smell a huge increase in Mr. Stephen Conroy's net worth if the deal goes through.
  • Grimlock82, on 11/12/2008, -0/+15Interviews with reps from 3 of Australia's top ISP's:
    http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=S8AZ21hCkIg&feature= ...

    NO CLEAN FEED!
    http://www.nocleanfeed.com/
  • Grimlock82, on 11/12/2008, -0/+14Senator Conroy is very committed to pushing this through. The previous government implemented a 'NetAlert' scheme where they provided parents with free Internet filtering software for their PC's. Funding has already been pulled from the NetAlert scheme and will officially end before the next round of filtering trials begins on December 24th.

    Do not disregard this governments attempts to force Internet censorship on us. They're trying to rush it through ASAP without anyone causing a fuss.
  • inactive, on 11/11/2008, -0/+14Ah, but don't you see... They could make information reguarding how to bypass the filter illegal.
  • forrest1972, on 11/12/2008, -1/+15This could have happened in the US if republicans and the religious right were in power another 4 years! Hopefully the Aussie court system will throw the ridiculous ISP filtering rule out. I'm afraid if it stands then other countries may follow suit. Don't let ANY government limit or censor your Internet access!! Lets NOT be like China.
  • inactive, on 11/12/2008, -1/+14Do both.
  • shrewduser, on 11/12/2008, -0/+13whirlpool thread: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t ...
    facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.p ...

    that should get you guys started if you want more information / want to register your support in protest of this silly move.

    add some hilarious pictures to the facebook group if you have any photoshop skill :)
  • freefallgrue, on 11/12/2008, -0/+12We need a bill of rights, and people to enforce it. This ***** cannot stand.
  • chrisduser, on 11/12/2008, -0/+12Right-on. 'Protect the children' laws and legislation are on par with trying to fix a severed artery with band-aids.
  • JediLlama, on 11/12/2008, -2/+14Dug down for misspelling "Australia" and "is awesome".
  • inactive, on 11/12/2008, -2/+14Americans have guns and you didn't stop the government when they took away your rights.
  • AReallyGoodName, on 11/12/2008, -0/+11I'd say a fundamentalist country not Islamic. Islamic is merely a subset of these crazy groups that push laws like this through.
  • Porridge1, on 11/12/2008, -3/+13Kevin Rudd is such a tard
    On the one hand I'm glad that howard is gone because I hated the way he was up bush's ass on freetrade and iraq/afghanistan, but Rudd is pretty useless all the same.
  • inactive, on 11/12/2008, -2/+12and ignorant fools such as yourself should have their internet taken away.
  • DestroyFascism, on 11/12/2008, -1/+10So Kids will grow up one day never knowing what a bad person looks like, acts like and what their intentions are? Conroy I had more sense at 7 years of age than you do at 40 million years of age...

    The fact you give children so little credit means you have no understanding of them at all. A 5 YO can tell if a dog is going to bit them! Perhaps educating their parents to think critically, logically instead of being slaves of the simplistic level, Government education programs of near conformity which would provide a far more positive outcome with considerable returns...You have no brain! I am accepting this and with that I trust you, like many politicians to behave accordingly.
  • dalesmatrix, on 11/12/2008, -0/+9We want Australia to be a modern innovative country and have a competitive broadband uptake...but wait, lets put some roadblocks in the way and increase the cost to consumers whilst reducing the quality of service they get. Seriously, what are they thinking?
  • DestroyFascism, on 11/12/2008, -0/+9Conroy is a Luddite fascist pig///
  • noisymime, on 11/12/2008, -0/+9Give him the benefit of what doubt? He's already conducted 3 studies that all showed it wouldn't work. The industry doesn't want it (And know it won't work), the consumers don't want it (and know it won't work). There is no doubt left in anyone's mind but Stephen Conroy's.
  • inactive, on 11/12/2008, -0/+9Or that.
  • Hughman86, on 11/12/2008, -0/+9***** Conroy!!!
    Stupid wanker who is going to censor "illegal/unwanted content". I wonder what he defines as "illegal/unwanted content"??? ***** Rudd, he is playing into the hands of the Christian Taliban in this country.

    I think that the Greens WON'T support this, I think Xenophon might, I'm not sure about the liberals but they seem to oppose it. Either way, a major party will need to support this along with all of the independents (i think) in order for it to get through the senate.








  • mvent2, on 11/12/2008, -0/+9***** Labor's blanket solutions to everything, thank God I'll be out of the country when the "pilot" is happening. ***** Rudd, ***** Conroy, ***** censorship, ***** Labor. Hopefully the Libs and Greens will have the sense to stop this in the senate when it becomes proposed as law (which they seem to).
  • BertEatsDirt, on 11/12/2008, -0/+8***** STEPHEN CONROY!
  • inactive, on 11/12/2008, -0/+8Both are totalitarian.
  • insideitalian, on 11/12/2008, -0/+8Well to be honest, you're really only reading stories about Australia when they relate to the government banning something, aren't you?
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 100 of 167 discussions

  • Add a Comment

    Login or register to comment!
    Or, sign-in super fast with your Facebook account ...

© Digg Inc. 2009 — Content created and posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain | Terms of Use Updated | Privacy Policy
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.