[plug] Internet oppression - watch your backs!

[Bret Busby]

The article below is taken from the Australian Online, at
http://technology.news.com.au/news/ .

It would appear that anyone who dares to criticise (including criticising
Telecom's mates, like Microsoft, and criticising government policies) will
be punished, if the members of feral parliament, and, the australian
broadcasting authority hve their way. Maybe the book, "1984", was wrong, as
far as the year goes, but the predictions seem correct.

No doubt, as tellycom is one of the first signatories, and, possibly the
most complained about feral government body, and, given the political
censorship imposed on Internet access in "China, Malaysia and Singapore",
which are cited as role models anyone who dares to criticise, using the
Internet, in Australia, will no doubt have the federal police, or some other
organisation, taking retaliatory action against them.

It is clear that the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, which guarantees freedom of political expression, will be
further disregarded in australia.

Bret Busby
email:     bret at clearsol.iinet.net.au
fax/phone: +61 8 9399 3820
_____________________________________

Alston blames ISPs for censorship move
By DAN TEBBUTT and JAMES RILEY
4may99

IT Minister Richard Alston signalled yesterday that Internet censorship
legislation was being imposed partly because the industry had failed to take
action for three years..

Senator Brian Harradine – the balance-of-power Independent targeted by the
Government's proposal – is still not satisfied, describing the draft law as
"watered down".

"This is a weak Bill – you ought to be happy," he told an industry group in
hearings before the Senate IT Committee.

Groups campaigning against the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online
Services) Bill are worried that Senator Harradine will push for even
stronger controls.

Senator Alston said that despite working closely with the Internet Industry
Association (IIA) for three years, the Government was not satisfied with
progress on an industry code of conduct.

"The problem is that they thought it [the code] would be in place a long
time ago," he said.

Only a minority of ISPs – notably OzEmail and Telstra – have signed the
draft code.

"We don't want a situation where a couple of market leaders are doing the
right thing and a lot of others are able to thumb their noses and keep
bringing in offensive material," Senator Alston told The Australian.

IIA executive director Peter Coroneos defended the industry's performance in
developing the code.

"No other industry association in the world has attempted such a detailed
statement with respect to the Internet," Mr Coroneos said.

"We would have wanted it to happen faster, but we've been calling for a
supporting legislative framework for 18 months."

ISPs were reluctant to sign the code until legislation guaranteed indemnity
for removing illegal content, Mr Coroneos said.

The proposed Bill went far beyond what was previously contemplated, he said.

"The Government has made our job harder, but we're still committed to what's
reasonable and workable.

"This is a market issue, and there needs to be a chance for a market
response."

Senator Alston insisted the Bill would not necessarily make filtering
mandatory.

"At the end of the day, if it's not technically feasible or commercially
viable, then it won't be reasonable to require it," he said.

But IIA chairman Patrick Fair called for more ironclad guarantees, pointing
out that these provisions were not written into the law.

Meanwhile, the Australian Broadcasting Authority has seized on the proposed
legislation as a chance to extend its powers.

In evidence to the Senate committee, ABA officials invoked China, Malaysia
and Singapore as role models for online content control.

Although opponents of the Bill said Malaysia was backing away from Net
censorship, ABA deputy chairman Gareth Grainger told senators: "Whatever
noises Malaysia is making about this issue, they don't intend to allow
problematic content on the Internet in their country."

The ABA has lodged a claim for $1.9 million in funding and five extra staff
to administer Internet content complaints.

"It's really going to be necessary for us to receive resources to undertake
this very significant addition to our regulatory function," Mr Grainger
said.

The ABA anticipates ISPs will bear the cost of educating users about
filtering and use the latest technologies for the task.

Mr Grainger said the IIA code of conduct would have to be changed to work
with the proposed legislation.

He was confident an online content regime could be operational by January,
since the Bill gave the ABA more power over ISPs than traditional media
industries.

"This legislation is somewhat tougher than the legislation that applies to
broadcasting."