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AU Classification Board To Censor Mobile Apps

Posted by samzenpus on from the we-got-a-ban-for-that dept.

bennyboy64 writes "The Australian Classification Board is seeking to censor mobile phone applications under its National Classification Scheme. 'I recently wrote to the minister [Minister McDonald] regarding my concern that some so-called mobile phone applications, which can be purchased online or either downloaded to mobile phones or played online via mobile phone access, are not being submitted to the board for classification,' Australia's Classification Board director Donald McDonald told a Senate Estimates committee. I wonder if they know that there are over 80,000 applications on the iPhone platform alone?"

4 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Go censorship! by Hasney · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Australia have got so hot on censoring everything these days they're more of a great grandma state at this point.

    With all the digital distribution options as well, I don't think they really know how easy it is to bypass regional restrictions on places like app stores.

  2. Wasted sarcasm by asliarun · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think they're heading in the right direction. They should also review and classify all websites on the internet as they can be downloaded to mobile phones as well. Shockingly, these so-called internet applications can even be downloaded to computers in even higher resolution. I wonder if they know that there are much more than 80,000 internet applications on just the world wide web alone. On top of this, they get regularly updated! Should keep a committee busy for a while, I think.

  3. like hell it isn't by serps · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is not censorship: this is rating, like done with movies and so already.

    Yes, but anything that is refused classification is unable to be sold. That's what censorship is. It's ironic that the predecessor to the OFLC was the Film Censorship Board, yet anything they didn't review was available to sell. i.e. they didn't censor.

    --
    "Einstein argued that [...] God is not capricious or arbitrary. No such faith comforts the software engineer." ~ Brooks
  4. Re:This is bad, how? by wvmarle · · Score: 3, Insightful

    According to TFA (which I actually read before commenting, yes unbelievable) this is about computer games. AU already rates console games and movies, they want to extend to online games and with that mobile phone games. Rating functional apps is of course nonsensical.