SkyFall
Telstra, Optus to start censoring the web next month Read more: http://www.news.com.
Telstra, Optus to start censoring the web next month | Latest Broadband and Wireless News | News.com.au
Guess Gillard is trying to see how low she can get her popularity level...MOST Australian internet users will have their web access censored next month after the country's two largest internet providers agreed to voluntarily block more than 500 websites from view.
Telstra and Optus confirmed they would block access to a list of child abuse websites provided by the Australian Communications and Media Authority and more compiled by unnamed international organisations from mid-year.
But internet experts have warned that the scheme is merely a "feel-good policy" that will not stop criminals from accessing obscene material online and could block websites unfairly.
The voluntary scheme was originally proposed by the Federal Government last year as part of a wider, $9.8 million scheme to encourage internet service providers to block all Refused Classification material from users as an optional service.
The Government dropped its funding for the scheme last month due to "limited interest" from the industry, but a spokesman for Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said a basic voluntary filter was still on track to be introduced by Telstra, Optus and two small ISPs.
"The ACMA will compile and manage a list of URLs of child abuse content that will include the appropriate subsection of the ACMA blacklist as well as child abuse URLs that are provided by reputable international organisations (to be blocked)," the spokesman said.
System Administrators Guild of Australia board member Donna Ashelford said blocking these website addresses should not affect internet speed, but was only a "cosmetic fix" that was easily circumvented by criminals.
"The effectiveness will be trivial because you're just blocking a single website address (and) a person can get around it by changing that address with one character," she said.
"Child abuse material is more likely to be exchanged on peer-to-peer networks and private networks anyway and is a matter for law enforcement."
Electronic Frontiers Association board member Colin Jacobs also expressed concern at the scheme, saying the Government and internet providers needed to be more upfront about websites being blocked and offer an appeals process for website owners who felt URLs had been blocked unfairly.
"There is a question about where the links are coming from and I'd like to know the answer to that," Mr Jacobs said.
"We've been waiting to hear details on this from the Government. It they turn out to be zealous with the type of material that is on the list then we'd want to have a discussion about ways to introduce more transparency."
The Black Beauty
Hand over the dog bikkies
As long as their looking like they are doing something right? I mean just because the filter can be bypassed in seconds doesn't mean it's not effective. /sarcasm
Welcome to the internet where people have opinions that you might not like
10 year old kids know that to source anything you torrent, and filters cannot stop torrents. So why 'experts' say that implementing this filter will prevent child porn access, is beyond me.
I'm fairly certain it's a ruse to implement a monitoring system, rather than a filter. At least ASIO will be able to track down targets of interest with greater ease, but who is going to monitor the monitors?
moderator- for now anyway
Telsta and optus are so stupidly expensive they should be offering something extra, don't think this filter is quite it though.
Originally Posted by Banicks
give me their addresses i have my own weaponry, i just demand diplomatic immunity.
Customize your life.
500 websites filtered today, 1000 unfiltered pop up tomorrow..
Fireproof Igloo
Shouldnt be looking at child porn anyway, dirty ####s
A U D I O . G E A R
:: H/U - Alpine CDA9887 || Front Stage - CDT COM 626 || Front Stage Amp - Infinity REF475A || Subs - 2xDD512 || Sub Amp - Infinity REF1600A ::
But that's just what the government wants the reaction to be, and why they say it is their main concern.
Anyone seeing opposing this 'filter', will be labeled as someone who wants access to child exploitation material.
500 websites is #### all to block
SkyFall
Its people like you that cause stupid things like this to get done.
Yeah it begins with the whole "protect the children" line then soon enough they start blocking anyone or anything that opposes them.....
The Black Beauty
L337
gah, when will this Nanny country learn , stop spending money on pointless shit
lucky for me i'm with neither optus or telstra and this makes the NBN australia' biggest joke
super fast internet with restrictions ?
Slayer of Stupid Threads
Funny thing is. Optus cant afford to filter content at the moment. Their international speeds have been in the gutter for almost 6 months now. Adding a filter is going to do wonders to fix their problems.
Trust me, I'm a Doctor
All for restricting sites that depict child abuse etc. but as said, it's only going to 'shift' the problem.
What I have a problem with is today it's 'criminal' sites, tomorrow it's politically incorrect sites, eventually we'll have access to one website telling us how we've been saved from the evils of the web by these policy makers. So for now, good on them, but lets wait and see
Slayer of Stupid Threads
Problem is blocking Child Porn websites is about... 10 years in the past?
Now its all shared through private P2P.
So yeah...the point of this is?
There is no legislation and it is all voluntary. Maybe people should read more than the first paragraph before starting a rant.
Last edited by Grennan; 23-06-2011 at 10:14 PM.
SkyFall
ooh not just a fail, but an EPIC FAIL!!!
If you were arguing against censorship in principle I would agree.
Slayer of Stupid Threads
The only way in which this filter is voluntary is if you have the choice to change ISP. If you use Telstra or Optus, you will be filtered, no matter what you say. There is no Opt Out from the consumer.
The ORIGINAL filter was voluntary on bahalf of the ISP. That has been sidelined and Optus and Telstra have taken it upon themselves to pick up a part of it.
It says "Volunatary" but it means the its voluntary opt in from the ISP, the consumer has no say.
Last edited by Grennan; 23-06-2011 at 10:17 PM.
Talking about censorship, why did you edit my post?
Slayer of Stupid Threads
Gave you a dosage of what you can come to expect.
...I dont think implying people are kiddy fiddlers is going to further the discussion
America just kicked in yo
Glad to be with dodo for once lol
Imagine how many people they will get if they log the IP of every person who tries to access the banned child porn websites. They will fish out alot of clueless scumbags, that's for sure.
Slayer of Stupid Threads
They already do.
You'd actually be surprised how many of the websites out there are set up for that very purpose. The problem is, websites only get the very low level offender. Usually a person that has accidentally stumbled across it or is just curious.
Everything happens via private chat rooms and P2P now.
When I was at Uni, we had a lot of work related to Cyber Crime, especially this and we had to get all sorts of special approvals from the administration because we would be pinged just researching this shit. (You get some weird looks in the middle of a library googling Kiddie Porn information.)
Like I said... theres really not much use at all filtering these websites. The police already know they exist, already close them down or siphon information from them.
Short of removing torrents from the internet (LOLOLOLOL) theres not much you can do.
Posting Permissions
1Likes
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
