New mandatory internet filters could affect all walks of life.
Wednesday 29th October 2008
Trouble is brewing in Australia’s online community as Senator Steve Fielding has demanded a mandatory policy forcing service providers to filter available sites.
Experts postulate that the government is under pressure from an outspoken minority – the move could lead to the filters blocking not only illegal sites such as child pornography but legitimate sites such as online casinos.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy had promised that anyone unhappy with the censorship of the Internet could opt out of the filtering plan, but now Conroy has put forward a ‘two-tiered’ system whereby adults could “opt out” of the filters regarding sites deemed unsuitable for children, but could not in the case of sites unsuitable for adults.