Internet Access in Australia to be filtered

The Austrian authorities would appear set to create a new benchmark in the censorship of the Internet with news that Internet Access in Australia is to be filtered by the authorities. While many people have welcomed the news it is starting to cause some concern within various circles. There are a number of issues which need to be addressed because while ultimately the censorship of Internet access in Australia is centred around the protection of children and the blocking of illegal material we are starting to see the emergence of other factors.

Internet use in Australia

Australia has one of the more developed internet markets around the world offering access via broadband in many areas of the country. While there is no doubt that the Internet, and in particular broadband, continues to impact upon local and national economies there is also growing concern about the darker side of the Internet. As a consequence, Senator Stephen Conroy has released a consultation paper regarding intention for Internet Access in Australia to be filtered.

Initially the plan to censor Internet activity in Australia was welcomed across the board but there are concerns that we could see the new regulations, assuming they are passed, used to block material which may be legal in many areas of the world. There is also the potential for the authorities to use any future powers to block material which may “not be in their interests” to be made public, but may well be of interest to the vast majority of the Australian population.

How would Internet access be filtered?

The idea is that a central database would hold information on all overseas hosted child abuse websites and other illegal and depraved Internet content. This list could be accessed by all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Australia and will effectively block access to such sites across the board. In effect the Austrian authorities are looking to bring in a number of practices already undertaken by governments around the world by wrapping them up under one set of regulations for the Australian market.

However, the authorities have already made it known that should the consultation document make it onto the statute books they would look to add other areas of inappropriate Internet content to the list and block these in the future. While the focus at the moment is upon the protection of children, blocking illegal activities advertised on the Internet and information which may lead to criminal activity there is the scope to expand this significantly in the future.

How do you differentiate between different laws in different countries?

One of the many issues which have come to light at this very early stage is the fact that some of the websites and content which may be blocked under the new Australian regulations could be legal in overseas lands – but perhaps caught up in something of a grey area in Australia. However, the idea is that the “refused classification” list would also allow the owners of content outlawed by the new regulations to appeal a ruling to the classification board. Unfortunately, this particular idea has unearthed a potential problem which content owners will find out about in the future!

The Australian authorities have decided that the “refused classification” list will not be made public and therefore only those within the Internet industry will be aware of the details of list and which websites and content will be banned. Even though the initial refused classification list was leaked onto the Internet in 2009 there are no plans to change the idea that the list will remain private and never enter the public domain.

This offers the potential to add websites and content to the refused classification list which may have some political angle or even privacy laws. Aside from the fact that Internet users in Australia would not be able to access such information, they would not even know that the content was ever available. It is rather bizarre to think that you are being banned from seeing something which you never even realised existed!

Is this a step too far by the Austrian authorities?

While there is no doubt that the Internet is now a vital part of both the worldwide economy and local economies around the world, there is a need for censorship and control. Even though the likes of Google have already complained about the “onerous censorship” suggested by the Austrian authorities there is a feeling that the Internet has become both a legitimate communication tool and something which is being used to peddle illegal material and encourage criminal activity. But surely the authorities need to at least give the everyday Australian population some control over their own life?

If the regulations currently under consideration are entered onto the statute books, many people believe we will be on the slippery slope to over censorship and over control by the government. There is no doubt that 99.99% of those who use the Internet would never even consider accessing the sites which will be banned by the authorities, so who is really suffering?

Digital communication

Ironically, while the Austrian authorities are carefully putting together the refused classification list there is no mention of monitoring or banning digital communications such as e-mail and other everyday communication tools. Therefore even if the Austrian authorities are able to put together a comprehensive list of banned websites and banned content those who peddle this type of material will still be able to transfer files and information by e-mail.

If we look towards the UK internet sector, we already have plans going through Parliament which will allow the authorities access to the e-mails and telephone records of every person in the country. Indeed a massive database is under construction which will hold the information gleaned from every Internet account and every telephone line across the country. Using highly developed software the authorities will then be able to search on keywords and further investigate potentially illegal material or that which may impact upon the security of the country.

Is this the next stage in the fight against terrorism?

There is a feeling that the terrorist movement around the world has benefited enormously from the Internet which gives various parties around the globe the ability to peddle their thoughts, release misinformation and also cause havoc. We have seen a number of instances where potential terrorist attacks have been discussed online causing massive upset, confusion and disarray in many areas of the world, only to find they were hoaxes. Unfortunately the authorities are not able to pick and choose which information they act upon and which they ignore for fear of potential disaster and deaths.

If it were possible to restrict the flow of information between terrorist and criminal organisations then no doubt every country around the world would embrace this move. However, the truth is that as quickly as the authorities and the regulations move we see the criminal fraternity and the terrorist groups moving quicker. They always seem to be one step further ahead even though the authorities are able to cause some disruption in the short term by closing down websites, accessing e-mail accounts and monitoring the flow of information between suspicious parties.

Is this the thin end of the censorship wedge?

There are concerns in some quarters that over censorship by the Austrian authorities may well ally the country with the likes of Azerbaijan, Jordan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Ethiopia, Singapore, South Korea, Syria, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Burma, China, Iran, North Korea and Saudi Arabia who all have a history of filtering Internet access on the grounds of inappropriate material or even social grounds. Whether this is a group of countries which the Austrian authorities would want to be associated with is debatable because while censorship of some areas of the Internet is obviously required, are the authorities about to go too far?

Who will pay for this new censorship system in Australia?

As we are starting to see in the UK, the UK government has quickly realised that the Internet could well turn out to be a very valuable source of future tax income. We have already seen introduction of broadband tax which will be levied on every telephone line in the UK whether or not there is a broadband connection. It is inevitable that the Austrian authorities will at some point transfer the cost of running the censorship scheme to the Internet service providers who will then pass on the cost to their customers. So in many ways those who would never dream of accessing the websites and the content in question will be asked to pay the price to block access for the minority.

So far there has been little confirmation about the cost of running the censorship scheme in Australia but with the Austrian authorities involved, regulators and Internet service providers there is the potential for the cost to run away. However, while it is impossible to put a cost on the value of saving and protecting children around the world are there no alternative ways by which the authorities could save children from potential harm?

Are the Austrian authorities taking away the right of choice from Internet users?

At this moment in time, as with other Internet user groups around the world, it is known that parents in Australia regularly discuss Internet access with their children and in many cases will strictly regulate their time spent online and the information they are able to access. There are already many software filters available with your Internet service provider which can and do play a vital role in restricting access to inappropriate or illegal material.

While no system is foolproof and there will be times when websites and content “slip through the net” perhaps we need to work together to clean up the Internet rather than the authorities taking complete control of Internet access?

Could the Australian authorities potentially go too far?

As we mentioned above it already looks as though the Austrian authorities are going to err very heavily on the side of caution and will restrict access to websites and content which may in the eyes of the law be legal in Australia and other countries. We also have a situation where information and content may well be legal in for example the US but may well fall into a grey area with regards to Australian regulations and laws.

Political censorship is also an issue which is very much at the forefront of many people’s minds with the ability to block access to content which may well be of interest to the public but could be kept away from the public domain. Is it right for the Austrian authorities to decide which websites you can access and which you can read while not informing you which websites and which content are banned?

This secretive approach to Internet censorship will place the Austrian authorities at loggerheads with the Australian population and has the potential to create serious misunderstandings in the future.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that the Internet has become part of everyday life for many millions of people around the world and continues to grow in importance. The Internet, and particularly broadband, has done and will continue to play a major role in the expansion of economies and the organisation of trade around the world. However, there is no doubt that the Internet is also being used by the criminal fraternity and those intent on circulating inappropriate and illegal material as well as terrorists who are becoming more and more adept at using the cyber world to wreak havoc. So is censorship by the authorities the answer?

There is no doubt that the Australian government and the Austrian regulators have the best intentions at heart but are perhaps going overboard and taking away all control from Australian citizens. It is the fact that the material which would be censored and the websites which would be blocked will not be made public to Internet users that is causing great concern. There is the potential for the authorities to block websites and information which may criticise their actions or individuals but may well be of interest to the public.

The fact that other forms of digital communication such as e-mails will not be filtered and will not be monitored is another area of concern because ultimately the vast majority of inappropriate material, criminal activity and terrorist operations are likely to be communicated via e-mail. There is no hard and fast solution to this problem but there is a feeling that the Austrian authorities are trying to “crack a nut” with a sledgehammer.

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Tagged as: Internet Access Australia