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Filter Vendor Agrees Aussie Censorship Can't Work As Promised

Acidspew writes "The Australian Government's plan to filter the Internet has caused furore and has been met with vehement objection. Many people have put their opinions forward regarding this matter, but this time around, M86 Security — the vendor that provided many ISPs equipment during the initial filter trials — has finally weighed in on the discussion. Six of the nine ISP participants in the URL-based Internet filter trial last year used M86's R3000 filtering kit. According to ARN: 'Internet filtering won't prevent people deliberately looking for inappropriate material from accessing blocked content, according to security vendor M86 Security.' The company continues by saying its filter gear was designed to be implemented into schools and enterprise businesses, not for an entire country. The article also touches on M86's views on censorship."

32 of 143 comments (clear)

  1. First sentence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    .. and has been with vehement objection.

    Did something get filtered out already?

  2. Keep up the pressure by Mortiss · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Unfortunately, it seems that even if God almighty would have stepped down and told Mr. Conroy that filtering of this sort is a bad idea i wouldn't have helped much. However, keep up the pressure and they will relent (do not look at NZ!).

    1. Re:Keep up the pressure by Freaky+Spook · · Score: 4, Funny

      God spoke to Conroy and warned him that a great flood of information was going to engulf the sinners of the world and commanded him to build Virtual Ark 1.0 in which he would put his people into to protect them from the horrors of information.

    2. Re:Keep up the pressure by Interoperable · · Score: 4, Interesting

      A comment posted below article linked to sums up the problem very succinctly:

      "every one of the content types stated by Senator Conroy for implementing the proposed net filter are already illegal in Australia and already filtered by the ACMA blacklist. [...] What Conroy actually wants to block is stuff that isn't determined to be Illegal in Australia but fall under the much much broader category of Refused Classification."

      I think that illegal material should be blocked (it usually is, by removing the associated IP addresses from DNS servers). On the other hand, blocking refused classification material is censorship. The government needs to clearly justify the proposed block for RC material rather than pointing to illegal material to attempt to justify it.

      --
      So if this is the future...where's my jet pack?
    3. Re:Keep up the pressure by DJRumpy · · Score: 4, Funny

      Shame they couldn't use Virtual Dyke 1.0, but that was filtered out too...

    4. Re:Keep up the pressure by W3bbo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The problem with blocking "illegal material" is the definition of "illegal material". For example, at what point is a medical textbook photo of a paediatric condition considered "indecent"? From this you can get into debates about intent, and if there's titillating intent is that a "thought crime"?

      Another example is text relating to the formulation of explosive materials: should that be considered "illegal information" too? From this we return to the concept of illegal numbers, then it all starts getting ridiculous.

      I believe it's easier to hold the position that no information or data is inherently illegal, neither should possession (which becomes a strict-liability offence, a can of worms) than to get stuck in the debate of what is and isn't illegal. Besides, if you're really after a piece of information or data then you're eventually going to be able get it.

    5. Re:Keep up the pressure by Jurily · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think that illegal material should be blocked (it usually is, by removing the associated IP addresses from DNS servers).

      I don't. Slippery slope, and all that. Once the system is in place to remove anything unwanted from the internet, it takes a whole lot of public oversight to prevent from abuse. Remember, politicians are people you know are lying for a living.

    6. Re:Keep up the pressure by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Unfortunately, it seems that even if God almighty would have stepped down and told Mr. Conroy that filtering of this sort is a bad idea i wouldn't have helped much.

      Chances are he turned to God, looked down at him and sneered "You a god? I am my own god. I will ignore the drivel coming from a being such as you".

      Most people consider good and bad to be two extremes of a straight line. I see them as opposing points on a circle. If you go too far one way there is a chance that you will end up where you didn't mean to be. The best place is somewhere in the middle, IMHO. No, its not a perfect view, but what is?

      --
      Jumpstart the tartan drive.
    7. Re:Keep up the pressure by Capsaicin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The problem with blocking "illegal material" is the definition of "illegal material".

      Indeed! The point of passing legislation through parliament is to make law. The material being blocked will be "illegal material" by definition.

      Or at least it should be. We won't be able to tell, of course, because the list of what is being blocked is secret. And that is the very worst aspect of the whole scheme.

      For example, at what point is a medical textbook photo of a paediatric condition considered "indecent"?

      To solve this "problem" we have courts. Judges deal with these sorts of marginal cases every day. It's not a big problem. (One doubts that a bona fide medical textbook of paediatric medicine would ever be judged indecent. As the Henson debacle shows, however, the question of 'art' is more vexed). But again, if the list is secret, how will it be subject to curial oversight?

      The real problem is that some random public servant (Sen Fielding's cousin maybe?), will be deciding which site does and which site does not fulfil the legal requirements for being placed on the list AND they will be doing so without the requisite transparency.

      Compare this to how classification is done now. When the Classification Board and the Classification Review Board decide to refuse classification for a film (effectively censoring it), we all know which film has be refused. We can also read the reasons for the decision. We, as a public, can then debate the question of whether the particular item ought, or ought not be refused, and possibly get the decision overturned.

      As the people are the ultimate sovereign in Australia (ACTV v C'th), it is to us that the censors must be answerable. Yet Sen. Conroy proposes not to answer to us. What to do with a servant like that?

      While secrecy might be an operational necessity in matters of national security (as courts recognise), it can hardly be argued that the threat from online information is so serious as to require the abrogation of normal democratic process. We've survived, relatively unscathed, for a decade or so.

      ... the concept of illegal numbers, then it all starts getting ridiculous.

      What is ridiculous about illegal numbers? If the parliament says a number is illegal, (and that parliament has the power to legislate with respect to the legality of numbers), then that number is illegal. It's all terribly straightforward. ;)

      --
      Better to be despised for too anxious apprehensions, than ruined by too confident a security. --Edmund Burke
    8. Re:Keep up the pressure by ScrewMaster · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think that illegal material should be blocked (it usually is, by removing the associated IP addresses from DNS servers). On the other hand, blocking refused classification material is censorship.

      Would you care to explain to this dimwitted American the effective difference between "blocking illegal material", blocking material that is "refused classification" and "censorship"? From where I sit, if I can't access a Web address because of government-mandated interference, well ... that material has been censored. What particular arbitrary classification a particular government regime places that information into is irrelevant: I cannot get to it. Governments like to play games with words in order to make their sanctimonious crap more palatable to their respective publics. It sounds to me like that's exactly what's happening in Australia, and you personally seem to be buying into it.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
    9. Re:Keep up the pressure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Well, let's take the usual example of child pornography. This material is clearly illegal under current Australian law, and as such it's a criminal offence to produce, possess or distribute it.

      So if that material is blocked, that's "blocking illegal material". It's censorship, yes, but if the process is subject to public oversight, no big deal - so long as a process exists by which it can be guaranteed that all the material that is blocked is illegal, there's no big deal, it's just a government enforcing the law.

      Now if material is "refused classification", that's slightly different. That then becomes a matter of state law - in some states, it's illegal to possess, whilst in others it's only illegal to sell. For instance, if a resident of Western Australia were to possess an uncensored copy of Left 4 Dead 2, that would be illegal, whilst the same act is legal here in New South Wales.

      This IS censorship, and the whole idea of refusing a work classification is offensive. This is material which hasn't broken any laws, but which has been deemed offensive by a review board. For films, this isn't a problem - there's an X18+ classification which covers anything which is offensive but not illegal (well, usually. Some of our laws are pretty vague). But notably, games don't have such a rating, so we can't have Left 4 Dead 2, or any game which mentions the name of real drugs, or any number of other things (Aliens Vs Predator was recently refused classification here, but, for the first time in nearly 2 years, won an appeal on the grounds that the violence was justified within the fantastical Science Fiction setting).

      The whole system is riddled with problems. Material which is offensive but not sexual in nature (ie. violence) can be awarded R18+. Material which is offensive but not violent in nature (ie. porn) can be awarded X18+. Material which happens to be both (ie. porn with a plot), even if the violence is not of an offensive nature, is eligible for neither classification.

    10. Re:Keep up the pressure by Capsaicin · · Score: 2, Informative

      Now if material is "refused classification", that's slightly different. That then becomes a matter of state law

      Not just state law. The Classification Board and Classification Review Board act under the aegis of the Federal Attorney General's Dept. But yes, the states are free to enact their own control regimes.

      This IS censorship, and the whole idea of refusing a work classification is offensive. This is material which hasn't broken any laws, but which has been deemed offensive by a review board.

      Not so. The refusal of classification has to be made on strictly legal grounds. Either the material has broken laws (by depicting violent sexuality, promoting drug use &tc.), or the decision of the Board is wrong. And the classification scheme is, as you say above, but in regard to prohibited material, "subject to public oversight." Conroy's secret censorship proposal would (dare I still use the modal verb) not be!

      Now I happen to think that the legal criteria for restriction are misguided, (I don't actually feel threatened by pot-smoking BDSMers), but that's a different question from the offensiveness of refusing classification per se.

      --
      Better to be despised for too anxious apprehensions, than ruined by too confident a security. --Edmund Burke
    11. Re:Keep up the pressure by rtb61 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Production of the material can be quite readily defined as illegal, blocking the material is pointless, pursuing those that create it and publish it, is the obvious point of focus regardless of how difficult it is. Now it other countries don't wish to cooperate in the producers and publishers of that content, simply block the whole country, no selective deceitful censorship, if the production of the content is so harmful then the only true choice is to block the whole country or, is the whole censorship to protect children thing a lie, a huge disgusting corrupt lie.

      It appears the true target of censorship is anything that might harm corporate profits including the truth targeted at false advertising, copyright protection where everything is claimed as being owned by default, of course political dissent and anything eve loosely tied to the concept of 'free' speech.

      The truth is if the want to protect children from the adults internet then they should create a completely separate children's internet, one that's monitored for let's see cyber bullying (children remorselessly targeting other children), late teens targeting early teens for sexual encounters, early teens talking younger more gullible children into doing destructive things and the most evil of all adult marketing executives seeking to psychologically manipulation children into purchasing products via abusive peer pressure and distortions perceptions of what is of true social value. Of course those first ones governments will have no problem tackling but that last one, I'm sure corporate greed via lobbyists and corrupt politicians will do everything in their power so that they can continue to manipulate the choices of children regardless of the psychological or resulting physical harm done to them.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    12. Re:Keep up the pressure by selven · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So if the majority of the population think censorship is okay, it becomes okay? Sorry, but individuals should NOT be subjected to a tyranny of the majority. If someone wants to look at something that 99% of the population find offensive, he should still have that right. A censorship system controlled by the people would be subject to personal and public tastes and prejudices and not in the public's best interest. As for gray area cases, so far all the judges can come up with to define obscenity is "I know it when I see it." How are people who want to create borderline art supposed to work with that?

      What is obscene and censorable is something that humans are simply incapable of handling, which is why we need a system of hard, bright lines. No censorship at all, no illegal numbers and no illegal works is a good place to start.

    13. Re:Keep up the pressure by Capsaicin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      So if the majority of the population think censorship is okay, it becomes okay?

      As a matter of law, since the public have decided not to restrict the legislature with regard to rights such as freedom of speech, the Australian public is free to have their parliament enact a regime of censorship. You'll note that I wrote that I cannot object "on democratic grounds alone." Those words did not accidentally slip from my keyboard.

      Sorry, but individuals should NOT be subjected to a tyranny of the majority.

      I agree, democracy is the worst from of government! Except, as Churchill pointed out, for all the other systems that have been tried. The choice (well it isn't) is to be subject to the will of the majority (at least in theory), or to be subject to the will of a minority, or a single man or book. In fact you are constantly subject to the will of the (theoretical) majority. But perhaps you live somewhere where a right has been conceded in relation to freedom of speech.

      If someone wants to look at something that 99% of the population find offensive, he should still have that right.

      Where does he get that right from? Remember rights aren't god given or natural, they are historically a concession from those who hold power. Where a People is sovereign, if the people does not give a person a particular right, that person does not have it. What an individual does have, under our legal system is the right (a concession originally from the King), to have their individual case heard based on laws of universal application, not based on their personal popularity of that person or the majority's disposition towards them. Outside that any right you think you have that protects you from the sovereign (whether this be the majority of the public or a dictator) is a mere fantasy.

      A censorship system controlled by the people would be subject to personal and public tastes and prejudices and not in the public's best interest.

      What is in the public's best interest is for the majority constituted as a public to decide. Which is not to say they decide well. As Spike Milligan put it so aptly, "in a democracy the people get the government they deserve, and I get the government they deserve too!"

      As for gray area cases, so far all the judges can come up with to define obscenity is "I know it when I see it."

      That's American law for you. But I don't believe it's relevant here. It is my understanding (and I'm open to correction) that in reviewing classification what judges, or administrative tribunal members, are deciding is not whether an item is "obscene," per se, but whether it depicts violent sexuality, promotes drug use etc etc.

      How are people who want to create borderline art supposed to work with that?

      If anyone wants to create boderline art, surely they absolutely require there to be a censorship regime? It's a of a waste of time working in that area if your work doesn't get banned. But look, actually I agree with you here, artists have an unfairly tough time of it when some morals crusader along with the Murdoch press sets their sights on them.

      [W]e need a system of hard, bright lines. No censorship at all, no illegal numbers and no illegal works is a good place to start.

      Unfortunately the great "We," don't want those particular lines (as much as the simple do like "hard and bright"). In my experience even people who argue against censorship balk at the idea of child porn openly for sale at the local supermarket.

      --
      Better to be despised for too anxious apprehensions, than ruined by too confident a security. --Edmund Burke
  3. Pull the plug... by LostCluster · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If the filter vendor agrees this is a rogue use of their technology... why are they cashing the check?

    Ban the use of the software that way in the TOS, and the Aussie government can go jump in a lake!

    Better yet, send out a rogue update to their servers where it disables the whole internet for the whole country... pirate software users don't have any reason to expect the software is going to behave honestly.

    If you do something that tweaks a software vendor, there's no telling that they're not going to tweak you back.

    Copyright has no requirement for publishing... there's some works done just to put it in a box and make sure nobody else can do the same.

    1. Re:Pull the plug... by canajin56 · · Score: 2, Insightful
      What the hell are you smoking? Rogue use? Australia pirated the software? Somehow turning into copyright means you have the right to steal your stuff back, just like OJ? TFA says they agree with the idea, but don't think it will work very well, since determined people will find their way around any firewall. Nowhere does it say they even disagree at all. As for "why are they cashing the cheque", they aren't, RFTA

      M86 has yet to settle on pricing should it chose to supply technology for the proposed Internet filter.

      As in, they're putting in a bid, they HOPE to be the one to provide it still, they just want to be on record that it won't work as a miracle cure, just a good first step towards protecting the children.

      --
      ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI
  4. Bags not being the scapegoat by Jaxar20 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Sounds like a PR job by M86 getting in a pre-emptive 'not my fault' for when this all goes South. I cannot say I blame them because it doesn't take much stretching of the imagination to see the finger pointing that would go on if this all fell through. I would not want my company blamed for other people’s incompetence either.

    1. Re:Bags not being the scapegoat by jasontheking · · Score: 3, Funny

      shouldn't you be jumping instead of ducking ?

  5. Confusion by Kell+Bengal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    See now, I'm confused by where the article states that the filtering is predominantly aimed at preventing kids from accidentally stumbling on child pornography. Now, it strikes me that given that such images are strictly illegal pretty much everywhere it's actually quite difficult to 'accidentally stumble' on.

    In fact, the mere fact that the article then goes on to say that criminals already have ways around it that are not prevented by this kind of filtering suggests to me that you're not going to just enter keywords somewhere and have it show up.

    The whole premise of the network filter - stopping kids from accidentally finding kiddy pron - is utter baloney. If it was so easy for a kid to find it accidentally, law enforcement wouldn't need to go to such measures to shut it down.

    'Think of the children' is, as always, an excuse. Given that's not the real goal of the filter, one can imagine what the actual purpose might be.

    --
    Scientists point out problems, engineers fix them
    altslashdot.org: The future of slashdot.
    1. Re:Confusion by Techman83 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I know that, you know that and I'm willing to bet even Senator Conroy is aware of that. Considering that he's been buddying up with the media companies on every front (reducing tv license fees, skiing with the head of one of the stations, backing big media in the iinet trial), that the filter, in it's current state, will certainly become the thin edge of the wedge.

      I watched "The Boat That Rocked" again the other night, and It reminded me that history seems to have a way of repeating itself. It may not be rock 'n roll this time, but it is certainly something the powers at be don't fully understand and cannot control. This scares them.

      --
      # cat /dev/mem | strings | grep -i cat
      Damn, my RAM is full of cats. MEOW!!
    2. Re:Confusion by thegrassyknowl · · Score: 4, Informative

      As someone who used to work in a filtering company...

      The point of a filter to nanny kids is not to stop kids finding porn. It's to stop them wasting their time in school using sites like Facebook, MySpace, etc. This kind of nannying is also useful for keeping an eye on your employees and making sure they don't spend all day on Facebook. Quotas can be enforced, access patterns allowing certain sites during certain times can be configured.

      The filter does a reasonable job of ensuring things like Google's safe search are always forced to on and stopping users accidentally stumbling on things they shouldn't. We had filter categories like 'porn', 'hate speech' and 'terrorism' which could be used to block a fair amount of stuff but that kind of automated decision making is not perfect and stuff slips through - even without a sufficiently determined attacker trying. It's just not possible to automatically block everything bad. The more accurate your automated blocking, the more intensive the CPU and memory requirements.

      It is possible, and reasonably cheap to block access to a number of known bad URLs. This is only possible if the blocker also controls the gateway firewall and only allows HTTP traffic to pass through it. If any other traffic is allowed to pass through the gateway we have immediate back doors (SSL, VPNs, SSH tunnels, TOR, etc) available to us.

      SSL-based traffic can be snooped with an intermediate key, but you also need to get a wildcard certificate to match. That's been proven fairly easy to do. If you control all machines behind your filter you can also have them trust your dodgy CA and issue your own certificate. What's interesting enough is that most users simply click away at SSL warnings until they get to the site anyway. No matter how annoying the browser is about it users just want their content.

      I see the most serious point of contention here is that people's banking and other fairly personal details will be inside the filter/proxy UNENCRYPTED. This means that a 3rd party has access to that and if the system is exploited so does any number of evil parties. I lost interest when I stopped being in the industry to an extent, but Conroy had initially wanted to disect SSL traffic as well. Did he go ahead with that requirement?

      Censorship on a whole country level is silly idea; there's too many back doors unless the country wants to restrict information flow to HTTP-only, which would have a devastating effect on the Internet. Even China isn't that strict and there exist dissidents who use technology to get around the Internet filters there.

      --
      I drink to make other people interesting!
  6. highly unusual by stimpleton · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The fact this vendor has announced this is highly unusual. I think they have been burned:

    a. Either their involvement in Australia has cost them other more valuable contracts.
    b. They mis-stepped and are being forced to maintain the system beyond their expectations.

    Either way, I suspect this contract is now a ball & chain around their ankle. They want out.

    --

    In post Patriot Act America, the library books scan you.
    1. Re:highly unusual by mikael · · Score: 2, Informative

      I think it is (b).

      Two alternative news media websites were blocked accidentally:

      Thankfully, this draconian measure does not effect all internet users in New Zealand however. It appears to be confined to those whose internet server providers, (ISPs), use Asia Netcom for their international internet traffic. Telstraclear, Vodafone and Worldxchange Communications users are not effected, while Woosh, Orcon, Slingshot, Telecom and Ihug users are.

      An avid fan of Infowars.com and a 9/11 truth activist, Jeff Mitchell, reported on Saturday that he contacted his ISP, Orcon, to establish what was causing the block, and was advised by a computer technician who did a traceroute, that the break in traffic to the two websites was found to be occurring at Asia Netcom's router in Sydney.

      Since many countries use and share satellite uplinks/downlinks for communication as well as underground fibre-optic cables, and that these are split into private networks for corporations, it makes enforcing filters that bit more trick. Many multi-national corporations actually have their network point of connection with the outside world through their corporate headquarters, rather than through local connections. That makes the enforcement of security policy far simpler. Long distance communication companies do the same as well. So applying filtering at one router is going to affect a whole load of countries at the same time. They would have to split up the IP addresses according to country and then filter them using individual routers.

      --
      Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
  7. moot?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    is that you? :)

  8. XS4ALL by RogerWilco · · Score: 5, Interesting

    In related news, I want to add that the biggest and oldest ISP of The Netherlands (XS4ALL) has also taken a stand against internet filtering. Unfortunately the site and documents are only available in Dutch:
    http://www.xs4all.nl/overxs4all/maatschappelijk/dossiers/downloaden.php

    What they have done is write a very thorough 32 page document explaining why internet filtering should not happen. It centers around a couple of arguments:
    - It's very expensive
    - It introduces single points of failure and bottlenecks, doing the opposite of what an ISP should be doing
    - It can't work without also blocking a lot of legal content, no matter what method you choose
    - Blocking legal content and censorship is against the idea of free speech, but more specifically the Dutch constitution and the European treaty on human rights.

    It's really well written, I wish there would be an English version. It's well worth the read.

    They have sent this to all Dutch political parties and the committee for copyright legislation. I was very happy to see them get involved in this discussion. We're having national elections next june, and it looks like at least some political parties are picking this up and making it a point in the elections.

    --
    RogerWilco the Adventurous Janitor
    1. Re:XS4ALL by RogerWilco · · Score: 2, Informative

      I've made a translation based upon your link of the page I link to:

      Position of XS4ALL on (il)legal downloading:

      Now everyone has access to a broadband Internet connection, consumers changed how they interact with entertainment, music and movies because they themselves can now download and watch whenever and wherever they want. Because the entertainment industry still has not sufficiently adapted to the changes that the Internet brings, many consumers download without paying. To prevent this, there are people calling for ISPs to enforce automatic tracking software to inspect and filter al the contents of Internet and email traffic of their customers. Every citizen on the Internet would get permanent control of a police-type robot and to who is not compliant, the Internet would be closed.

      Artists have a natural right to compensation for their work, but it is highly undesirable to require ISPs to take on a role of law enforcement and investigate any e-mail, search, or travel picture sent to their Internet customers. That would be a severe breach of fundamental rights to privacy and confidentiality of communications, information and freedom of speech.

      XS4ALL therefore urges all parties in their election program to take a stand for the protection of civilians, and to force the entertainment industry to a new business model that fits the current time, instead of criminalizing citizens massively by siding with an industry who refuses to meet a real - but new - consumer demand.

      To help all parties to carry the debate wisely, XS4ALL has sent information to the Houses of Parliament, the Ministries of Justice and Economic Affairs and the program committees of political parties to clarify the legal and technical risks of the current plans. The report and accompanying letter can be downloaded here.
      Report
      accompanying letter

      --
      RogerWilco the Adventurous Janitor
  9. Our internet filter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I am posting as anon because I do not want anyone to know who I am, however, I do know people involved in this project and I know what I am about to say is true. It is designed to be a rudimentary fix to a possible political problem the govt will inevitably face from the conservatives in the opposition when the new NBN (National Broadband Network - a fibre to the home network for almost all homes, work places and institutions) has been rolled out.

    You see the Labor govt has young(ish) knowledgeable tech savvy people working for it. Most of the opposition have no idea how to use the expensive tech that they have access to as ministers. The opposition screwed up our whole telecoms sector while they were in Govt, and the Labor plan is to replace the entire telephone network in Australia with a proper data network (not a phone network), and separate wholesale and retail arms of the sector. This should have been done 10-15 years ago - it is projected to cost around 42 billion $AUS.

    Labor is also giving children in all govt schools laptops to use instead of their normal books.

    The opposition will inevitably ask why the Labor govt irresponsibly connected children to the porno-interwebs and use a family values scare campaign. The IP blocking filter doesn't work the way you think it should, and they all know it, and they don't care. When primary school kids hook up their laptops to the NBN, or the police, or the hospitals (patients and staff alike) - they will have to actually *want* to subvert the firewall to access this stuff......and politically - that is enough for Labor to point the finger back at the user, and tell them it is not the Govt fault, and the user should be held responsible. Oh and as far as I am aware - there is not law that will penalize you if you do get around the firewall.....no one is going to arrest you (like in China or other less liberal countries).

    I actually agree with this approach. I do, however, think that the list should be publicly available, blocked sites should have the right to ask why their site is blocked, and a system of appeal to get it unblocked. I also think that people in Australia should understand that while we do not have a bill of rights, we do not have an explicit right to free speech......so ask your pollies why they haven't introduced one yet (Victoria has one...but it is a bit crap ).

    1. Re:Our internet filter by Wuhao · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is a dangerous door that you're opening here. Let's take your assertion at face value. Let's say that the firewall is indeed defective by design; that Australians are meant to be able to bypass it should they have the desire; and there is no law punishing you for bypassing it. What makes you so sure that it will stay that way?

      Do you really believe that no one will notice that the firewall doesn't work? When they do, do you think they'll a) say "whoops, this was a mistake" and tear it down, b) say "eh, shucks, leave it be," or c) say "GOOD HEAVENS THE CHILDREN" and try to "fix" it? If you said b), then you've just stalled. What will they do next year? Lather, rinse, repeat until they take one of the more conclusive options. It'll be a) or c), and once you have that damn firewall in place, a) will be political suicide. That leaves c).

      On a technical level, secure Internet filtering for censorship does not work, and never will work. When the technical consultants come back and say this time and again, moralizing politicians will stop looking for technical solutions, and start looking to more traditional ones: fines and jail sentences. It will be a crime to visit certain websites, and the infrastructure will be in place for the government to find out that you did it. It won't be perfect. It will still be perfectly evil.

      This seems like a mighty steep price tag for fast Internet and laptops for school kids.

    2. Re:Our internet filter by Sparx139 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I actually agree with this approach.

      I disagree. The Liberals released the NetAlert opt-in, downloadable filter back when they were in power. It fell flat on it's face - nobody downloaded it, and it was broken within two days by a teenager. But at least it kept to the principles of democracy. Repeat after me:
      There are better ways to deal with "protecting the children" then creating a police state
      There are better ways to deal with "protecting the children" then creating a police state
      There are better ways to deal with "protecting the children" then creating a police state

      --
      Our culture doesn't get smarter, it just finds new ways of being retarded.
  10. Re:EJECT! EJECT! EJECT!!!! by Nefarious+Wheel · · Score: 2, Funny

    Pretty sure that god fellow trolls on 4chan for kicks. Could you really blame him for trolling an entire NATION?

    Just a tramp like one of us? Just a stranger on a bus trying to make his way home?

    --
    Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
  11. Here's an obscure one for you... by biryokumaru · · Score: 4, Funny

    This warn you. THOUGHTCRIME in docs after. Make Report. If fail to make report, is INFOCRIME. Make Report. If report made on failing to make report, this paradox. Paradox is LOGICRIME. Make Report.

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    When you're afraid to download music illegally in your own home, then the terrorists have won!