NZ Internet peak body shows the good sense which Rudd & Conroy lack

InternetNZ rejects centrally operated filtering for New Zealand

InternetNZ has today released a position paper that responds to the development by the Department of Internal Affairs of the “Digital Child Exploitation Filtering System”.
The position paper rejects centralised filtering as an acceptable approach for New Zealand to take. It sets out the basis for this position, and calls on the Department to conduct a thorough study of the extent of access of child abuse material on the Internet and the best ways of addressing it.
“InternetNZ supports a safe environment for people online, and absolutely deplores the availability and use of child abuse material,” says InternetNZ Policy Director Jordan Carter.
“However, a government filtering system, centrally operated, is not the answer. It risks leaving parents feeling that the Government is providing a safe environment, but it cannot deliver on that promise. The filter would only help at the margin, and child abuse material would still be available on the Internet.
“The filter would disrupt the end-to-end connectivity that has made the Internet the useful tool it is today. It creates some confidentiality concerns, and is not subject to all the usual lawful checks and balances that apply to all other parts of New Zealand’s censorship regime.”Besides studying the scale of the problem, the preferred approach New Zealand needs to take is a proactive one. People need to understand the risks of such material, and they need to be made aware of things that they can do to avoid it.
“Filtering solutions chosen by individuals and applied to their computers is a good option. A centralised, government scheme is not,” concludes Carter.
InternetNZ January 28, 2010

Have you noticed how often Stephen Conroy mentions bestiality?

 

Almost every time the Australian Communications Minister opens his mouth on censoring the Internet he mentions bestiality. It's almost an obsession with him. He's also widened his plea to not just thinking of the children but protecting adults from Teh Evilz. Is Stephen Conroy really concerned about what we might (ahem) 'accidentally' see on the world wide web or is he reflecting his own fears and dark desires.

Furry friends against Internet filtering

I found a blogging moggy over at North Coast Voices who objects to the Labor Government's Internet censorship plan.

"A Grrr at Kevin Rudd musing: Even Toovey the Wonder-Dog blacked out his website on 26 January 2010 in protest at Rudd's plan to censor the Internet in Australia. Next furry friend to see this man should give him a sharp nip on the ankle (I'm looking your way Jasper & Abby)."

Now that's a seriously political feline. ;-D

This is Toovey the protesting mutt ->

Get your censorship question for Kevin Rudd into ABC TV Q&A now!

Kevin Rudd special

Q&A returns in 2010 at the top of the week – 9.30 every Monday night. To celebrate we'll kick into 2010 with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd joining Tony Jones and 200 young Australians for a live broadcast from Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. That's Monday 8 February at 9.30pm on ABC1. Don't miss it!

Register to be part of the Q&A audience in 2010. You can also ask the PM a written or video question, or send us a video mashup.

Jacobs cuts through Conroy's dishonest spin on Internet censorship

Colin Jacobs of Electronic Frontiers Australia writing in today's Crikey dismantles the hypocrisy of the Australian Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy:

The debate over internet censorship has well and truly moved to the global centre stage, with the US last week drawing a line in the sand and declaring itself the champion of open access. Coming in the wake of Chinese cyber attacks against Google and dozens of other US companies, the new approach was outlined last week in a speech by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who declared the free access to information online as critical a human right as the freedom of assembly or the right to publish.

Although barely mentioning China, the speech has roused considerable ire in Beijing. It's not just China that is experimenting with internet censorship, however. This speech couldn't have come at a worse time for the Rudd government, with its mandatory filtering policy set to come before Parliament early this year. Any government would want to be seen on the side of freedom and democracy, but elevating uncensored internet access to a fundamental right is clearly problematic in the present circumstances.

It was therefore not surprising to see that the government has endorsed the Clinton doctrine, but it has done so in such an ironic and equivocal way as to elicit a wince or two when reading it.

In a media release titled "Rudd Government welcomes Secretary Clinton's comments on the internet", Senator Stephen Conroy spent the first half on the non-sequitur of the National Broadband Network, and the second half justifying their mandatory filtering policy. Beginning with "The Rudd government also agrees with Secretary Clinton's observation that 'all societies recognise that freedom of expression has its limits'," Conroy predictably goes on to again raise the alarm about nasty content such as bestiality.

This is a cynical misrepresentation of Clinton's words. To use a speech that includes the lines "governments should not prevent people from connecting to the internet, to websites, or to each other" and "censorship should not be in any way accepted by any company from anywhere" to justify a censorship policy is nothing if not brazen. Clinton herself goes on to say that "these challenges must not become an excuse for governments to systematically violate the rights and privacy of those who use the internet for peaceful political purposes". In other words, there are challenges, but the benefits of an open internet are too great to risk with government censorship.

For the sake of fulfilling an election promise, the government is now arguably on the wrong side of history. The department's spin doctors have their work cut out for them.

Ironic laughter is the best medicine when faced with Stephen Conroy's internet censorship plan

jonseymour

  

Conroy does have debating partners. He just hasn't sorted out the Iranian and Chinese translators yet #openinternet about 18 hours ago from TweetDeck

 

 

Teh Minister For Fascism's form letter on his censorship plan

Australian Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is sending out a form letter in reply to concerns raised about the Rudd Government plan to censor the Australian Internet.
As usual it's a say nothing misrepresentation from a minister who is less than honest with voters.
Full screen link to this letter.

Rudd's plan to censor the Australian Internet will meet little opposition in Parliament?

 

The Rudd & Conroy plan to censor the Internet may not be a guaranteed vote winner, but Opposition Leader Tony Abbott looks like he's shaping up to head the Coalition towards supporting legislation once it hits the Australian Parliament in mid-2010.

This is the Mad Monk on internet filtering during a doorstop: Annabel, I am not really familiar with the technicalities of this proposal. I think that it makes sense to try to ensure that the homes of Australia aren't invaded with pornography via the internet. On the other hand I don't want to see wider censorship and I don't want to see the internet destroyed as a tool for people's education or as a tool for people's businesses. So it is question of whether this is technically feasible and I just don't know enough about it at this stage to have an opinion on that....We are open to proposals provided they achieve their objective without unfortunate side effects.

Not exactly mounting the barricades to preserve free speech is he?

 

The Greens have decided not to oppose any Internet filtering bill outright but will try and tweak it round the edges. Whiteanting from within the party had resulted in this weak-kneed position: Unless the Government changes tack, the Greens will be moving significant amendments to this legislation if it is introduced to the Senate.

With so few senators to call on these amendments will be going nowhere.

 

The only people who are going to stop the sub-text drive to neuter the Net as a source of unregulated political information and activism will be digital citizens who vote.

Tell the buggers in Canberra that you'll vote them out if they vote for Internet censorship!

 

 

Play 'Ban This Game!' and pretend to be the real Australian Minister for Censorship and Thought Crimes

 

Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Stephen Conroy is going to get laughed out of office at this rate.

Go play Ban This Game!

Hat tip to game creator Connor O'Kane. Onya ;-)