The Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Bill

The Canadian concern has been echoed by the Malaysian Government. Not noted for liberal attitudes, the Malaysian government abandoned attempts to regulate Internet content on economic grounds.

Our government is also at odds with the United States over this issue, causing US Senator Ron Wyden, to write to the Australian ambassador in Washington, criticising Canberra's plan to put international Web content under the control of the Australian Broadcasting Authority.

"Such an approach would clearly violate the spirit and the letter of the policy statements contained in the Australia-United States Joint Statement on Electronic Commerce," Senator Wyden's May 13 letter stated.

"Only two nations have attempted wholesale centralised regulation of the content of the Internet – China and Singapore – and both have found their efforts ineffective," the letter added. The text of the Agreement is here.

The legislation purports to be about protecting children, and "measures to stop paedophiles, drug pushers, bomb makers and racists from using the Internet to spread their poison". But child pornography, drug trafficking and terrorism are already illegal, everywhere, on the Internet or off. This legislation will make those crimes no more illegal than they already are. However, on the pretext of protecting children, it will block access for adults to other material that is now legal.

By suggesting that filtering technologies such as Internet Sheriff and Smartfilter will be suitable, the government is suggesting that parents allow a computer to raise their children. Moreover, they are suggesting that a piece of software should decide what they, the parents, can read. The State should have no role in the relationship between a parent and a child, except in the most extreme circumstances.

As the CSIRO reported, blocking technologies can be circumvented by a variety of means. In summary, the CSIRO reported (pdf available here):

"Packet level blocking is too indiscriminate, and its use would create unintended ‘holes’ all over the emerging global digital infrastructure, which could isolate Australia to a large degree in the emerging digital global infrastructure. It is inconsistent with Australia’s desire to become an electronic commerce hub for South East Asia.

Application level blocking is technically possible, but it can easily be circumvented by users in more ways than can packet level blocking. Mandating its use may result in black lists becoming ‘hot property’, with the result that the black-listed sites may actually become more popular than if they were not black listed at all.

Our conclusion is that Content blocking implemented purely by technological means will be ineffective, and neither of the above approaches should be mandated. Any technology-based solution can be worked around – purely as a result of the sheer pace of technology change on the Internet."

This legislation has a King Canute approach. It is like legislating that motor accidents are forbidden to happen, but ignoring sensible measures such as limiting speed, prohibiting drink driving and requiring seat belts and airbags.

There is material on the Internet that parents may not wish their children to see. There are sensible and practical ways for supervising children's use. Parents may wish to sit beside very young children when they use the Internet. For older children, they may decide that the Internet should only be available in a public room, like the family room. Parents can purchase filtering sofware of their own choice, to be installed on the family computer, rather than at the ISP level. While EFA does not recommend any of the filtering software we have seen, this is an affordable option for parents.

As well as listening to business, the government's own agencies, and the citizens, Senator Alston should remember that freedom is an essential ingredient of free enterprise, and listen to his colleague, Tony Abbott. Mr. Abbott wrote, in the Australian (12 April 1999) of the crucial importance of the Internet to the Australian economy, and how it could help to overcome the tyranny of distance. In this context he wrote that Australians must lose 'our habit of relying on government to make things happen'.