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In the hullaballoo over China’s plan to censor Internet, the media seems to have ignored the Australian government has similar plans. Now Google and Yahoo have joined Australian organizations calling for a “rethink” of the country’s Internet filter plans. The Australian government has announced proposals to introduce a mandatory filter which would block what it calls ‘Refused Classification Content’. The groups argue that the subjects covered in this category are too wide-ranging.
“Refused Classification includes not just child sexual abuse material but also educational content on safer drug use as well as the grey material such as aiding controversial crimes such as euthanasia,” Australian civil rights activist Michael Cope said.
He also warned the filter will not “effectively protect children. Hardcore material featuring children tend to appear on chatrooms and peer-to-peer networks which are more difficult to filter”. Australian Library Association Executive Director Sue Hutley said filtering has been “known to trap legitimate information and adversely affect valid Internet access.”