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Draconian Censorship Push In South Australia

Posted by timothy on from the bowlderization- dept.

Diabolus writes: "Australian IT are reporting that the South Australian Government are about to pass a bill which mandates censorship of the Internet. Discussion of any "adult themed" content online now about to be outlawed - effectively anything worthy of an 18+ rating. Not only do Web pages fall under its scope, but also newsgroups and publicly archived mailing lists. Offshore content is also subject to this legislation if controlled by a South Australian. As a resident of SA, my freedom of speech is about to disappear ..."

8 of 354 comments (clear)

  1. As an Australian... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4
    You don't actually have a constitutional right to free speech. The best that can be argued is that you have an implied right under common law.

    This implied right to freedom of speech already is limited under various state and federal laws - for example, libel and slander are illegal. In states such as NSW there are anti-vilification laws under which you can be punished if you publish material that could be deemed to incite hatred or violence.

    I know that some of the American libertarian types out there may not like this - but I look at it this way, when speech is as 'free' as it is in the US, it basically becomes meaningless. At least in Australia, because we don't traditionally talk about having a 'right' to 'free speech' as such, it seems that we value using our speech wisely and responsibly _as well as_ valuing the freedom that we do have to speak our minds.

    This is not to say that our governments don't occasionally pass some stupid laws... Hmm... don't you guys have an election this year? If so, make mandatory internet filtering an election issue. Think of it this way, a goodly chunk of the Bible would be filtered/banned! I am sure that those forces that are pushing for such filtering aren't aware that the GoodBook(tm) would also become invisible to kiddies..

    1. Re:As an Australian... by Brian_Ellenberger · · Score: 4
      > - but I look at it this way, when speech is > as 'free' as it is in the US, it basically > becomes meaningless.

      Not to us Americans! I think Americans would be surprised to hear what the rest of the world thinks about free speech.

      For example: Canada is not bereft of free-speech advocates, but they have actually been told by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council: "In Canada, we respect freedom of speech, but do not worship it." from http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0031/hentoff.sh tml

      I've been following the Canada for a while now because as a born-again Christian they are scaring the heck out of me. Their equivalent of the FCC regularly bans any programming that does not meet their "standards". Their government is trying to revoke the rights of Christian universities that teach beliefs which are against what they government wants people to believe. See http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/008/7.19. html

      This stuff is pushing into the United States. Look at "hate crime" legislation. Guess what that is? Pretty soon, you say the wrong joke or believe in the wrong thing or say the wrong thing and you will be fined and put in jail.

      The problem is people who force their beliefs on other people through the law. For example, right-wing anti-homosexuality laws (Which Alan Turing was a victim of). These laws tried to physically force people to not be homosexual. They failed and were very destructive. However, we have swung the other way and now have left-wing "hate crime laws" and "tolerance" initiatives. They are just as bad. If you want to fight for free speech, start with fighting against things like trying to force the Boy Scouts to accept athiests and homosexuals---even if you think they should. Because you never know if you might be the next target of some government official or special interest group who does not like the way you think

  2. Of all the gard darn things.. by BrookHarty · · Score: 4
    Nobody wanted to see pornography or paedophilia online, but the proposed bill was unworkable, Adelaide internet consultant and educator Brenda Aynsley said.

    Speak for yourself! Wheres the pr0n?

  3. Big deal by shirro · · Score: 5

    Don't stress folks. I live in SA and I can tell you now that there are no storm troopers out the window.

    SA was amongst the first places in the world to give women a vote, gave rights to aborigines before most other states etc. Marijuana is decriminalized and all that. Good food and wine, lots of motor sports, great climate - could be worse.

    The government here is mostly powerless and these sorts of laws are unenforcable. Anarchy is just around the corner anyway.

    So chill out. People should be more concerned about concentration of media ownership and draconian defamation laws in Australia. Internet censorship has technical solutions.

  4. No, Replace "internet" with "thoughts" by JoeShmoe · · Score: 5

    Anything that people could possibly have thought of is going to be expressed on a website somewhere. Therefore, a better way to picture the Internet is the sum of all human thought.

    So basically this topic is:

    "Australian IT are reporting that the South Australian Government are about to pass a bill which mandates censorship of thoughts."

    And hasn't that been the secret goal of every governement since time began?

    - JoeShmoe

    --
    -- I wonder which will go down in history as the bigger failure: the War on Drugs or the War on Filesharing
  5. Now hiring.. by perdida · · Score: 5

    young, committed men and women with a dream of leading the future of internet technology!

    Skills: Strong stomach, being able to "recognize pornography when one sees it," penchant for censorship.

    Seriously, aussies, if your friend says he or she is taking the Censor job, cut them off and then h4x0r them.

    and no, this cannot be done with nanny-ware, we have seen in many other stories how this software is so inaccurate that it would not withstand any substantial constitutional test in any country.

    --
    Goat sex free since 2001
  6. Who decides what is obscene? by Spunk+Junkie · · Score: 5
    This is moronic. I know I'm preaching to the choir here on the slash, but when are govts. going to realise they cannot censor the Internet. I mean the only sensible way is to have someone examine every single packet. This reminds me of... Damn... Can't remember the name now, but it was one of these stupid filtering products and it was filtering out information on breasts because it was considered obscene. Only thing was it was censoring sites relating to breast cancer. There was also another case of software blocking access to the holocaust museum because it mentions the Nazi's. WTF?

    Australia always seemed to me like a sane country.

    There is no sensible way to implement this, but since when did sensible enter into what a government does...

    My condolences to all those effected by this stupidity:(

    --
    Synchronized cocks!
  7. oh no! the internet! by stev-nx · · Score: 5
    I live in South Australia, and hadn't heard about any of this legislation until I read the Australian today. However, I find the whole thing pretty amusing. I'm sixteen. I can walk (or drive) to any newsagent or petrol (gas!) station, and buy as many R rated magazines as I want, without being asked for proof of age. I can do the same at any 'Adult Book Store' (tm), but this time with X rated material.

    I can buy magazines full of guns and knives and other 'offensive weapons'. I can buy newsletters produced by far-left political groups. I can buy pro-abortion and pro-euthenasia newsletters. All offensive to some people.

    I can publish these items on paper if I wish. But heaven forbid if i publish or view them on the internet!

    Sound crazy? It is, and this is just one of the many crazy legislations and laws my Government has made - enough to convince me to leave South Australia.