Slashdot Mirror
Australian Government Backing Down On Censorship
Combat Wombat sends the news that the government in Australia has begun waffling on whether country-wide Internet censorship will be mandatory. "The Rudd Government has indicated that it may back away from its mandatory Internet filtering plan. Communications Minister Stephen Conroy today told a Senate estimates committee that the filtering scheme could be implemented by a voluntary industry code. ... [The shadow communications minister] said he had never heard of a voluntary mandatory system. ... Senator Conroy's statement is a departure from the internet filtering policy Labor took into the October 2007 election to make it mandatory for ISPs to block offensive and illegal content." The censorship plan, which has been called "worse than Iran," was bypassed even before trials started. A minister's defection may have effectively blocked any chance of implementation.
I've read so many stories about that nation trying to seal itself off culturally on every media front that I can't bring myself to give a shit about that backwater hick country that has committed itself to cultural jihads. Yes, this measure went down - but don't think they won't try again, and again, and again. I'll be keeping my money in the northern hemisphere for countries that allow me to think.
But don't fret - have another beer and fuck another shrimp on a goddamn barby in the meantime - don't worry your pretty little empty head about anything. It makes such a lovely rattle.