Oz Pirate Party Tells the Elderly How To Bypass the Net Filter

mask.of.sanity writes "When Exit International discovered it was earmarked for Australia's Internet filter blacklist, it wanted to ensure its members could access its pro-euthanasia material, but its members share an average age of 70 — not exactly from the tech generation. So Exit International turned to the filter-hating Pirate Party of Australia, which supplied a 'hacker' who taught a crowded room of grandmas and grandpas how to use proxies and advanced VPN tunnels to access Exit International's material — which the Australian government thinks breaches the moral compass of society. Computerworld has the presentation."

Comments

It sure feels odd

[Arancaytar]

It'd feel odd to teach a group of old people how to access information about killing themselves.

But that's the point of the freedom of information - anyone should have the right to seek it out and access it.

Re:It sure feels odd

[anarche]

Yep, crazy world we live in.

Mind you, these people all want to have their life's options explored. They are not all for killing themselves now, just may not want to be vegetable burdens in the future, much like many of us.

How long until Capt. Kevin makes it a crime to either
a) bypass the filter
b) assist others to bypass the filter
c) both of the above.

bloody stupid steve!

Re:It sure feels odd

[athe!st]

Comrade Kevin is only doing what is best for peace and harmony in the People's Republic of Australia

Crazy Australians.

[purpledinoz]

I always thought Australia was a developed country, economically, and politically. This Internet filter craziness makes them seem very un-democratic. What's next? Filtering the opposition party websites? Filtering any websites that has an opposing view of the current government? I don't think that next step is such a big one.

Re:Crazy Australians.

[totally bogus dude]

Undemocratic? The Hungry Beast had a phone poll of 1,000 people conducted, the results are in this Wikipedia article. The results indicate that a lot of people actually are in favour of the filter, but it seems to largely depend on how it's phrased and explained.

I think we have the same problem as pretty much every democracy: everyone gets a vote, but only a small portion of people actually care/know enough about an issue to make an informed choice. And the governments don't seem to be under much pressure to actually be open and honest about what the policies they're pushing will actually achieve. So, the government asks "do you want the Australian Government to block access to things only sickos would want to see like child porn?" and most people say "yes". The government doesn't mention the filter will only block unencrypted HTTP and therefore by absolutely trivial to bypass, or how much it will cost vs the amount of content it'll be blocking, or how effective it will be compared to installing your own filtering software.

Various online polls show strong opposition to it, but that's pretty much as expected. People who have some idea of how the internet works are hugely opposed to it for technical as well as "freedom" related issues, but people who have no idea (which is most people) just hear "this will stop child rapists and not impact you at all" and are of course going to be for it.

In a way, it's a lot like the "Free software" debate. Most people don't give a crap if their software is "Free" or not, and don't even think about how having a healthy Free software ecosystem may benefit them (regardless of what they choose to use themselves). But if it all disappeared and there was no alternative but proprietary software from big corporations, they'd realise what they'd lost. But explaining it beforehand? There's just no interest.

Re:Crazy Australians.

[dorward]

The results indicate that a lot of people actually are in favour of the filter, but it seems to largely depend on how it's phrased and explained.

See Yes, Minister:

Sir Humphrey “You know what happens: nice young lady comes up to you. Obviously you want to create a good impression, you don’t want to look a fool, do you? So she starts asking you some questions: Mr. Woolley, are you worried about the number of young people without jobs?”

Bernard Woolley: “Yes”

Sir Humphrey “Are you worried about the rise in crime among teenagers?”

Bernard Woolley: “Yes”

Sir Humphrey “Do you think there is a lack of discipline in our Comprehensive schools?”

Bernard Woolley: “Yes”

Sir Humphrey “Do you think young people welcome some authority and leadership in their lives?”

Bernard Woolley: “Yes”

Sir Humphrey “Do you think they respond to a challenge?”

Bernard Woolley: “Yes”

Sir Humphrey “Would you be in favour of reintroducing National Service?”

Bernard Woolley: “Ohwell, I suppose I might be.”

Sir Humphrey “Yes or no?”

Bernard Woolley: “Yes”

Sir Humphrey “Of course you would, Bernard. After all you told you can’t say no to that. So they don’t mention the first five questions and they publish the last one.”

Bernard Woolley: “Is that really what they do?”

Sir Humphrey “Well, not the reputable ones no, but there aren’t many of those. So alternatively the young lady can get the opposite result.”

Bernard Woolley: “How?”

Sir Humphrey “Mr. Woolley, are you worried about the danger of war?”

Bernard Woolley: “Yes”

Sir Humphrey “Are you worried about the growth of armaments?”

Bernard Woolley: “Yes”

Sir Humphrey “Do you think there is a danger in giving young people guns and teaching them how to kill?”

Bernard Woolley: “Yes”

Sir Humphrey “Do you think it is wrong to force people to take up arms against their will?”

Bernard Woolley: “Yes”

Sir Humphrey “Would you oppose the reintroduction of National Service?”

Bernard Woolley: “Yes”

Sir Humphrey “There you are, you see Bernard. The perfect balanced sample.”

Re:Crazy Australians.

[timmarhy]

well, i've lived in regional australia for 25 years and i've also traveled the southern states.

your entire post is full of 1/2 truths.

The cronulla riots were triggered by long standing tensions caused by gangs of australian born lebanese attacking people on cronulla beach. the outbreak of violence was sparked by a 13 yo life saver (life savers are an icon here in oz) being brutally bashed by such a gang for telling them to stop harrasing a female swimmer. just like your rodney king riots.

the baby over board saga, that was blown out of all proportion by all involved. i wouldn't be throwing stones about illegal immagration if i was you with your countries stance on their southern boarder....

you'll need to back up your claim about police treating aboriginal deaths the same as animal deaths. i've lived here my whole life and never heard such a claim.

while i traveled the south i came across the most intollerent gits i've ever met. while i agree that australia is a fairly conservative country, compared to the USA they look like left wing hippies. the impression i got from america is that people like to think they are all freedom loving and open minded, when really they just want THEIR kind of freedom.

Re:Is this even possible?

[Arancaytar]

Elderly firewalls?

Like, Norton 1.0?

Re:What is Australia thinking?

[TheLink]

Too bad, there can only be one subscriber.

Re:moral compass?

[TheVelvetFlamebait]

But... but... but... How else can we pigeonhole people who support censorship? Next thing you know, you'll be telling us that pinning the rest of our political problems on religion is also wrong!