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The Debate on Internet Access in Australia

By: Move Forward

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As the world becomes more interconnected, the Australian authorities have started to rethink its current policies regarding internet access. Though many have welcomed this move to give greater governmental control on internet access in Australia, some others find this very alarming. A number of issues were raised on this kind of censorship, such as limitation of illegal material and protection of children, as cause for the moves. Lately, new reasons come to fore why internet access in Australia needs to be regulated.

The first move towards the regulation of internet access in Australia was the consultation paper released by the Office of Senator Stephen Conroy. The paper weighed the pros and cons, such as the business purpose of broadband access versus the proliferation of illegal and immoral material to Australian homes. Concerns have been raised as to the specific guidelines for the consideration of material considered to be legal in Australia and the future use of such power under the guise of “public interest”.

The paper proposed that the government creates a central database of information on child abuse websites and other illegal sites online. Once access has been done by an individual in Australia, then the central database upon reading the URL, blocks the ISP from streaming information to the user. This has been done effectively and efficiently by many countries throughout the world and Australia is undertaking studies on how best this can be done Down Under.

The initial objective is to limit the proliferation of child pornography and abuse. Australian legal authorities are further studying options on expanding the coverage of this “master list” to include other inappropriate Internet content that can be blocked in the future. The major issue is the conflict of laws on the allowance of a particular site in one country and not in another. In Australia, there is a proposal to create a classification board to determine which sites are to be allowed and which ones are to be included in the “master list”. The key here is to have a “refused classification” list that would be considered confidential in order to keep websites from learning how to get around the requirements. This became a problem when the list was leaked in 2009, but it is foreseen that this methodology would be kept to regulate internet access in Australia. The problem with having a “refused classification list” is the political angle and even violation of privacy laws.

The most vociferous criticism is the claim that the government is taking this too far. The internet has become part and parcel of everyday life, a valuable tool not only for business and finance, but even for culture and social growth. To allow this kind of censorship would effectively limit the majority who do not access the supposed illegal and depraved sites. Some have suggested self-regulation with the government providing advisories on the access of these sites. If the plan does push through and the regulations become laws, then the government may be in for a long and winded discussion on the matter.

As the Internet becomes integral to the everyday life of many Australians, it should also be recognized that this vehicle is also being used for nefarious purposes. These include child pornography, criminal activities and terrorism. As commented on at the Australian Forum, “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.” Everyone is awaiting the outcome with bated breath.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

This article has been provided by Jose Marc Castro, the online editor at the AustraliaForum.com- the primary community for people moving to Australia. The site also provides information and advice on matters such as internet access in Australia.

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