Australian Internet Censorship Jul 2007 - December 2007
Tasmanian ISP level filtering dropped
In July 2007 it was reported that the Tasmanian ISP level filtering trial had been abandoned after Telstra and Optus refused to be involved.
Porn cull dropped. The Australian 24.07.07
Internet Sheriff chief executive David Ramsay said the project was commercially risky without support from the two carriers.
"Without having them involved to supply the bandwidth at no cost it would have been quite expensive with no guarantee of any outcome for me. To go and spend upwards of $600,000, I needed some sort of idea what would have happened if this was successful and no one could really give us any assurance as to what the next steps may or may not have been."
Tasmanian Liberal senator Guy Barnett, a strong champion of the trial, said he was disappointed it didn't go ahead.
Communications Minister Helen Coonan has, however, directed Australia's communications regulator, ACMA, to conduct a new ISP-level internet content filtering trial and report its findings to the Government by June next year.
ACMA last week closed its tender, seeking experts to conduct the trials.
It's not clear whether the new trial will be conducted in a live commercial environment. ACMA spokesman Donald Robertson said yesterday technicians close to the trial could not be contacted for comment.
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Steve Fielding: Happy Clappy Not Happy
This brought a predictable response from Steve Fielding who wants ISP level filtering, as opposed to the governments preferred individual software option.
Steve Fielding
Family First Senator for Victoria
MEDIA RELEASE SF/161.
Tuesday July 24, 2007
GOVERNMENT SCRAPS MAJOR TRIAL ON INTERNET FILTERING
The news that the Federal Government has quietly scrapped plans for a major three-month industry trial of internet filtering shows its lack of commitment to protecting children from Internet Pornography.
It was reported today that the Government has walked away from what would have been Australia’s only live commercial internet content filtering trial, which was to have been conducted in Tasmania.
“The Communications Minister Helen Coonan trumpeted this trial in June last year during an announcement about ‘Protecting Australian Families Online’,” FAMILY FIRST leader Steve Fielding said today.
“So much for protecting Australian families. And so much for protecting our kids and ensuring their minds are not polluted by filth.
“More than a year after the Government's big announcement, Australian families are still waiting for free filtering software, libraries still do not have access to free filtering software and now another major project has been abandoned.”
Telstra and Optus have reportedly refused to participate in the trial, which would have investigated filtering content at the Internet Service Provider (ISP) level.
For almost two years FAMILY FIRST has been campaigning for mandatory filtering at the ISP level, which a Government report found was “feasible” and which is the only way we can help protect all children from pornography.
“The Government does not support ISP-level filtering which is disappointing,” Senator Fielding said. “PC-based filters are important but if they are not installed, children are not protected from violent and pornographic content.”
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Helen Coonan's response to Steve Fielding
Senator the Hon Helen Coonan
Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts
Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate
Media Release
99/07
Wednesday 25 July 2007
Fielding gets it wrong on filtering trial
The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator the Hon Helen Coonan said today that Family First Senator Steve Fielding’s allegation that the Australian Government has cancelled its ISP-level filtering trial is completely wrong.
“Senator Fielding yesterday took it upon himself to issue a press release claiming that the Australian Government had cancelled an ISP-level filtering trial without bothering to contact my office for clarification,” Senator Coonan said.
“A privately-run ISP-level filtering trial has
been cancelled, but that is completely unrelated to the ACMA ISP-level filtering
trial and yet this fundamental error does not seem to have bothered Senator
Fielding.
“One call to my office to find out the facts would have saved everyone’s
time. It is grossly irresponsible for Senator Fielding to issue misleading
statements, careless of the facts,” Senator Coonan said.
In June 2007, Senator Coonan issued a direction to ACMA to conduct another trial of commercial ISP-level filtering products in Tasmania. This trial will assess any advances in such filtering technologies since they were tested in 2005-06.
“Far from being cancelled, the ACMA ISP-level filtering trial is progressing well, with the request for tender for companies to conduct the trial closing last Wednesday 18th July,” said Senator Coonan.
“Three tender bids were received by ACMA and their formal evaluation will be underway shortly. I look forward to receiving the results of that ACMA ISP-level filtering trial.”
Senator Coonan said that Senator Fielding should wait to see the detail of NetAlert – Protecting Australian Families Online before levelling criticism at what will be a world-first initiative.
“In coming weeks we will be announcing the details of our $116.5 million NetAlert - Protecting Australian Families Online initiative which will include an $18.3 million Internet safety education campaign and the provision of free online content filters to every Australian household and public library to help block unwanted content through the $93.3 million National Filter Scheme,” Senator Coonan said.
“The Howard Government is working to ensure that Australian families receive education, support and tools to help protect children and young people online.
“I trust that other parliamentarians, regardless of political affiliation, will be genuine in their support for such an important initiative,” Senator Coonan said.
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Ross Lightfoot presents ISP filtering petition.
The Western Australian Liberal Senator Ross Lightfoot presented the following petition in the senate.
Petition: Information Technology: Internet Content
Date 08 August, 2007
Database Senate Hansard
Presenter Senator Lightfoot
Page 65
Proof Yes
Source Senate
Type Petition
Context Petitions
To the Honourable the President and Members of the Senate in Parliament assembled
We, the undersigned citizens of Australia draw to the attention of the Senate the common incidence of children being exposed to Internet websites portraying explicit sexual images. These images may involve children/teens, sexual violence, bestiality, and other disturbing material. Many such websites use aggressive, deceptive or intrusive techniques to induce viewing. We submit to the Senate that:
Exposure to pornography is a form of sexual assault against children and should be considered, like all sexual abuse of children, as a serious matter causing lasting harm. It is not adequate to charge individual parents with the chief responsibility for protecting their children from Internet pornographers determined to promote their product, OR to expect parents to teach children to cope with the damaging effects of pornographic images AFTER exposure. It is the primary duty of community and Government to prevent children being exposed to pornography in the first place by placing restrictions on pornographers and those businesses distributing such material. Internet Service Providers (ISPs), should accept responsibility for protecting children from Internet pornography, including liability for harm caused to children by inadequate efforts to protect minors from exposure. Your petitioners therefore, pray that the Senate take legislative action to restrict children’s exposure to Internet pornography. We support the introduction of mandatory filtering of pornographic content by ISPs and age verification technology to restrict minors’ access.
by Senator Lightfoot (from 95 citizens)
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Howard and Rudd Speak to Christians
On Thursday 9th August 2007, John Howard and Kevin Rudd attempted to prove who was the bigger Christian when they spoke to over 700 churches in an event organised by the Australian Christian Lobby. Howard took the opportunity to announce that the government's Net Alert plan, which was to provide internet filters to all parents, would now include the option of having ISP filtering. This is different to Labor's threatened policy of having mandatory filters, something that Steve Fielding from the Family First party was pushing.
Howard on internet porn crusade. The Australian 10.08.07
The Prime Minister unveiled his new net commandments last night on a webcast to more than 700 churches and thousands of churchgoers around the country.
Mr Howard and Kevin Rudd delivered the addresses on the 2007 election campaign to 770 Christian churches of all denominations.
Mr Howard and the Opposition Leader agreed to speak for 20 minutes and answer questions from church leaders at the National Press Club in Canberra as part of the Australian Christian Lobby's campaign to get Christians to make their vote count.
Both leaders attend church and have appealed to Christian voters to support them.
Last night, as Mr Howard talked about Christianity and family values, he revealed the government plan to upgrade the protection for families from internet pornography, violence and sexual predators.
The webcast, organised by the Australian Christian Lobby, was the most significant initiative so far in the group's campaign to get politicians to recognise and respond to what managing director Jim Wallace calls the Christian "constituency".
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Coonan and the Government's Net Alert Policy
Senator the Hon Helen Coonan
Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts
Deputy
Leader of the Government in the Senate
Media Release 106/07
Friday 10 August 2007
NetAlert Protecting Australian Families Online
The Prime Minister, the Hon John Howard MP was joined by the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator the Hon Helen Coonan to announce the Government’s world leading $189 million programme to protect Australian families from online dangers in the increasingly complex internet environment.
Senator Coonan said the NetAlert – Protecting Australian Families Online programme is an ambitious initiative that will give families the tools they need to manage their internet experience, as well as tough new policing and enforcement measures.
“This means that families can reap the benefits of technology whilst limiting exposure to the very serious risks the internet can pose to children and vulnerable young people.
“The global nature of the internet and the way it transcends national borders makes it a unique challenge for governments around the world. Despite these challenges, the Howard Government has been tackling the issue of offensive online content for more than seven years, starting with the Online Content Scheme in 1999.
“Regulatory measures such as the Online Content Scheme have been matched with tough law enforcement, a specialised online child sex exploitation police team, criminal sanctions, education and family support services,” Senator Coonan said.
“Much of this action over the past seven years has occurred without the support of Labor, the Greens or the Democrats. This disappoints me, and I am sure it disappoints many parents, who see child protection as an issue that must be tackled by the whole community.
“The Howard Government has a serious commitment to protecting our children and whilst we have an enviable world reputation in tackling this issue, the pace of change and new technology means we must keep this issue at the forefront of our policy decisions.
“The comprehensive nature of today’s NetAlert announcement is evidence that the Government is committed to using the broadest possible line of attack in the protection of Australian families online.
“Unfortunately, no single measure alone can protect children from online harm and in fact, traditional parenting skills have never been more important.
“That’s why this Government has delivered on our commitment to Australian families to do all we can to make the online experience safer and to arm parents with practical support. There is no doubt that Australia now leads the world in online safety,” Senator Coonan said.
This comprehensive package of measures to protect Australian families online will go live on Monday 20 August 2007.
NETALERT PROGRAMME SUMMARY
The NetAlert – Protecting Australian Families Online, programme is a comprehensive range of practical measures to protect Australian Families Online and includes:
National Filter Scheme
The $84.8 million National Filter Scheme will provide access to the best available internet filtering technology free to every Australian family.
Depending on the family’s choice, parents will have access to a PC-based filter for installation on their home computer or an ISP-filtered internet service, where the internet feed is filtered before it reaches the family home.
Both filtering options will filter web content against the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) Blacklist, a list of banned internet sites, as a standard feature but PC-based filters have additional functionality to allow parents to tailor their family’s internet access and use.
“Technology is moving quickly in this area which is why I never rule anything out but at this time, only PC-based filters have been independently tested to block a much greater level of offensive content and critically, assist in limiting online contact by strangers,” Senator Coonan said.
“In order to ensure our filters stay ahead of predators, all filter vendors under the National Filter Scheme will be required to continually update their products to allow for advancements in technology and actively discourage the circumvention of their products,” Senator Coonan said.
From 20 August 2007, the new NetAlert website will have accredited and tested filters for download or families can elect to have them delivered via the post on a CD-ROM.
Under the National Filter Scheme, all ISPs will be required to provide a filtered internet service for families who prefer this protection option with a new system to be implemented following a joint government and industry feasibility study, and input from a trial of ISP filtering in Tasmania.
Filtering for all Public Libraries
In addition to the provision of filtering products for every Australian family, the National Filter Scheme will be extended to make free filters available for all public libraries.
“Whilst the National Library of Australia filters all public internet terminals, I am aware that many state, territory and local libraries do not filter their computers. Clearly, all levels of government who run these libraries have a duty of care in relation to limiting risk for children in their care and this includes the online, as much as the physical, environment.
“Due to the abject failure of the majority of state and territory governments to fund filtering programs within their library network, the Australian Government will step-in and work closely with the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) to install library filters and obtain associated on-going support.
“Tasmania and the ACT are to be congratulated for existing filtering strategies in their respective public libraries but I call on the other remaining premiers and the NT Chief Minister to take this matter seriously,” Senator Coonan said.
New Internet Safety Hotline
A key feature of the free filter scheme will be a new NetAlert website and toll free internet safety helpline. In addition to specialised technical filter information, the helpline will provide practical tips for parents to help them manage their child’s online experience.
The helpline will offer family-friendly hours operating from 8am-10pm, seven days a week in all states and territories.
Education and Awareness
A comprehensive $22 million public awareness and education campaign will also commence shortly to inform parents and carers of children about online safety issues and provide information about where they can go to receive support and assistance.
“In developing this multi-faceted programme, what comes through very clearly in our research is that parents feel some level of confidence in tackling online content issues but when it comes to predatory, stranger contact online, they said they needed more information and support,” Senator Coonan said.
Internet Safety Outreach
Since 2005, NetAlert’s highly successful outreach function has taken the internet safety message to over 3,400 school and community groups. As part of this new initiative, over $11.7 million over four years will be provided to ACMA to increase this outreach programme with 10 new internet safety officers. This increase will enable a trebling of school and community visits thereby giving parents, and those caring for children, hands-on support and practical internet safety assistance.
More Online Police
Launched in March 2005, the Online Child Sex Exploitation Team (OCSET) provides the Australian Federal Police with national assessment and coordination capability for international and national referrals of child pornography. Since its inception, OCSET has been responsible for laying charges against 55 people for a total of 160 offences. The AFP has 35 specialist staff dedicated to the evaluation and investigation of online sex exploitation matters. A further 100 AFP investigators throughout Australia have been trained to increase the capacity of the AFP to fight this crime.
“Under the NetAlert initiative, the Government will provide an additional $43.5 million over four years to the AFP’s dedicated Online Child Sex Exploitation Team (OCSET) and its hi-tech crime units enabling the deployment of 36 new staff in 2007-08 rising to an additional 90 staff by 2009-10,” Senator Coonan said.
The Online Child Sex Exploitation Team (OCSET) is dedicated to the detection and investigation of online child sex exploitation matters, with a particular focus on targeting the ‘grooming’ of children by online predators.
New Prosecution Resources The Government will also increase the resources of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) by $1.4 million in 2007-08 and $2.8 million per annum for three years to undertake the additional prosecutions which are expected as a result of the extra AFP resourcing.
Social Networking Websites
Significant concern has been raised about the use of social networking websites by predators to contact and groom children via the internet. Following failure by the Police Minister’s Council to progress this matter at their meeting in June this year, the Australian Government will shortly announce the membership of a Consultative Working Group to seek a workable solution from law enforcement, industry, regulators and the community.
Australian Child Offenders Register Review (ANCOR)
During the review of the Australian Child Offenders Register (of convicted child sex offenders), the Government will investigate how the ANCOR could be better used to keep paedophiles away from children online.
Increased Regulatory Action
Under the NetAlert programme, the Government will provide an additional $2.2 million in 2007-08 to ACMA to respond to increasing complaints about internet content, requests for internet safety advice and the continuing management of the Online Content Scheme and take-down regime established by the Government in 1999.
This new funding will increase ACMA’s online response team with 14 new regulatory and internet safety advisory officers.
Australia’s take-down regime, established by the Government in 1999 has been recognised as an effective regulatory measure in relation to removing illegal online content from the internet.
“Labor voted against the establishment of our online regulatory regime in 1999, claiming it would not work. Yet after seven years operation, we have never had an Australian ISP refuse to comply with a take-down notice from ACMA, and this speaks volumes for the integrity of the local industry,” Senator Coonan said.
In addition to extra compliance funding, ACMA and the AFP will also investigate the extension of the existing ACMA Blacklist to include malicious websites beyond the current National Classification Scheme which includes existing illegal pornography (refused classification) websites to include for example terrorism and cyber-crime sites upon prescription by the Attorney-General.
International Engagement
“The internet is a global environment and does not respect national borders. In the same way that this Government led the way with the SPAM Act, the Interactive Gambling Act and the Online Content Scheme, we are committed to increasing engagement with international counterparts on online safety,” Senator Coonan said.
Under the new NetAlert programme, the Government will provide an additional $0.5 million in 2007-08 to enable relevant agencies to initiate work in the OECD and UN-based Internet Government Forum in 2007 to achieve an agreed international framework on the key issues of classification standards, access and complaints investigation.
***
Howard and Coonan on the Net Alert Policy
John Howard
Interview Transcript
10 August 2007
Joint Doorstop Interview with Senator the Hon Helen Coonan, National Library,
Canberra
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Minister, Commissioner, Commander Zuccato who is Director of the High Tech Crime Section of the Australian Federal Police; the Minister and I are very pleased to announce a $189 million commitment to our NetAlert - Protecting Australian Families Online initiative. Essentially what this will do is to provide every Australian family free of charge with a filter that they can put onto the internet which will automatically block the blacklisted material and in additional any other material that parents deem inappropriate for their children. In addition to that there will be a lot more resources provided to the Australian Federal Police to detect perverts and predators who seek to use the internet as a means of getting in touch with children for their own perverted purposes. We will be funding a significant information campaign, an education campaign for parents and also providing a hotline service that will be available for...during family friendly hours. This initiative which was foreshadowed by the minister some months ago, but today's announcement includes the additional resources of some $43 million for the Australian Federal Police and also enhancements of the filtering process, is in response to widespread parental concern in Australia about the way in which predators can have access to their children through the internet and the capacity for children to access what is plainly harmful, inappropriate and offensive material. It will not, of course, take the place of the role of parents in supervising what their children do, there could never be any substitute for vigilant parents. But this particular program will assist parents who want to be vigilant to give effect to that vigilance because the filtering device which is free of charge will automatically block out a category of the most offensive material and then over and above that, according to the values of an individual home, the filtering device can be used in a fashion to block out other material. I think it is an excellent pro-family initiative. We all know the superb value of the internet as a communications tool, we all know how it has wonderfully enhanced our lives, but because of its extraordinary capacity it is open to abuse and it is open to people to abuse the vulnerable in our community which, of course, principally comprise our children. And it's an appropriate investment of Government money to provide this assistance to Australian families. I want to thank the Australian Federal Police for the contribution they've already made fighting crime through the internet and to welcome the presence of the Commissioner and the head of the task group within the Australian Federal Police, and before answering questions, I would like the Minister to say a few words to supplement my remarks.
MINISTER COONAN:
Well thank you very much PM. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a very, very important day for families. We all know that the most precious obligation parents have is to keep their children safe and we recognise that as the Prime Minister has said while the internet is a wonderful resource and something to be embraced by children, it also contains a number of potential dangers. That's why we have a world first, certainly the most comprehensive package that I have been able to develop, looking right across the world, of any government in responding to the dangers for children online. The package that is announced today adds to the previous announcement quite significantly. What we have done in addition to providing a free filter for every Australian family is to announce that we will have a compulsory ISP filtering available to any family that wants it, and we are developing a package that will make good that offer together with the Internet Industry Association, who are working very cooperatively with the Government to ensure that a product is available. There is, of course, the free filter for every public library. In addition we acknowledge that a lot of dealing with the internet is about educating the parents about the dangers online - parents, grandparents, carers are very...are deeply concerned and very worried about the dangers to children on the internet. Those dangers are not only from a web-based access, but also from contact - peer to peer, chat rooms and emails. That's why our whole filter program is designed to let parents choose how to tailor make their own child's experience. We understand that a lot of parents feel very uncomfortable with technology, that's why we've got a seven day a week helpline for parents that will go live on the 20th August. That will mean that parents in family-friendly hours, that is parents will be able to ring up between 8.00am and 10.00pm every day of the week. It will also have a significant outreach program for schools through our initiative NetAlert. It will also have a significant enforcement boost because it's not much good just identifying where online predators are if you can't do anything about it and I do commend the Australian Federal Police who have, through the OCSET program, done a very, very good job of tracking pedophiles online and prosecuting them. It's a very comprehensive package and we've had inquiries from Israel through to Denmark about the comprehensiveness of this initiative, so I am very pleased to be here today with the Prime Minister to announce it.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister can you say now that parents can be totally confident, they can close the door to their children's bedroom and not have predators trying to connect with them or be downloading pornography?
PRIME MINISTER:
I can say they can be overwhelmingly more confident. You can never provide a perfect total 100 per cent protection, but this is as near as modern technology will enable parents to provide that protection. But bear in mind that it still places a responsibility on parents to upgrade the filter. I mean there is a basic block out in relation to the blacklisted material, but it is then up to parents to add other material that they believe is not appropriate for their children, and quite properly it is up for them to decide what that is. But parents who want help are being provided with world's best practice help in relation to filtering of unsatisfactory, offensive material. But you can never take the place of parental vigilance and supervision. There is no device known to man that takes the place of parents in deciding what material goes to their children, but this will dramatically increase their capacity to give effect to their values and their attitudes and I think that is a wonderful thing.
JOURNALIST:
So you can filter the content, but what about the contact that the Minister mentioned?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the whole purpose of the additional resources will be to enhance our capacity to deal with contact and to ensure that those who seek to make contact are appropriately pursued.
MINISTER COONAN:
Yes that's correct PM. David, as you would appreciate the situation is that the filters that you can download on your home computer have more functions than just an ISP block. So the filters that you can download on your home computer will have the blacklist and it will also have whatever the parents want to provide in relation to their child's experience and that experience can be tailored. If you've got a seven year old, you can set the filter at a different level than if you've got an 11 year old. You can do things with these filters that we've accredited and tested to ensure that for instance a small child can't give out their name or their location, so that if they are being contacted by some unsavoury person online, obviously that they can be protected in that way. The ISP filters are less effective because they just block the website, so that's why we've always said that we don't think ISP filtering is the whole answer but it is one of the answers.
JOURNALIST:
Can you have both?
MINISTER COONAN:
You can't have them both together, but you can choose which one you wish and the PC filters in our view is the most effective at the moment, but we never shut out the possibility that there may be enhancements that are possible and the contract we are going to have with our filter vendors will require them to continually upgrade.
JOURNALIST:
Minister you announced in I think April last year that every family would get a filter, why has it taken so long to get this into action, is it just because the filters are that difficult to get right?
MINISTER COONAN:
Well it is important that we do get it right and that we get it comprehensively right, and even since I've announced it there have been further enhancements that have become available. So we think that we now have world's best response to this and that we've got a contract with all of the vendors that have been independently tested. It takes a long time to test them, then to make sure they will meet all the requirements. So I make no apologies for getting this right and as best as we can possibly make it.
JOURNALIST:
And if you decide to the get the ISP filtering do you have to pay for that, or does the industry pick up the cost?
MINISTER COONAN:
No, this is the big difference; that the Government is actually footing the bill because we think it's that important. We do think that it is so important that we have the best response for parents, we don't think that parents should have to pay for it. We want to help them, but we also ask parents to also help themselves and to help their families because no technology is foolproof but what we are going to offer free will immeasurably helpful them to tailor the child's net experience.
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Internet Industry Association respond to Net Alert
Internet Industry Association (IIA)
Media Release
IIA Response to Government Filtering Policy
Friday, 10 August 2007
In relation to the announcement today by the Federal Government expanding the Australian internet filter scheme, the IIA's response is as follows:
We support many elements of this scheme and are, for now, keeping an open mind on other elements pending their better definition.
The IIA has long opposed mandatory internet content filtering by ISPs of the entire network. However, since January 2000 we have had in place industry codes of practice that require ISPs to provide customers with filters or a filtered service.
For the internet industry, the issues remain cost, practicality and precedent, but we also recognise that for users the desire for control of their own internet experience will in many cases be paramount.
The main emphasis of the Government's announcement is on the provision, free of charge, of CLIENT SIDE filters to the public for installation on their home computers.
The IIA believes that filters are no substitute for parental involvement and supervision of their children's online behaviour.
Nevertheless, many families find filters a useful adjunct to supervision. The use of the filters will be voluntary, though we hope all families with children online will avail themselves of the offer. It will be for the end user to determine whether they obtain a filter, whether they use it or whether they request a filtered service.
The filters have been selected according to their ease of installation, setup and use by parents with limited technical experience. They are also designed to be resistant to removal or disablement by children. This is achieved by the parent setting a password or pin which must be provided if any attempt is made to disable the software.
PC based software providers better end user customisation according to ages of children and family values. Newer versions also allow for the control of contact risks, eg. access to chat rooms; this is something that current server level filters cannot achieve. We recommend PC based filtering for these reasons.
In certain, and we expect, limited cases, where parents feel they are simply incapable of installing a PC based filter, there will be provision for their internet feed to be supplied on a filtered basis by ISPs.
The exact dimensions of this scheme are still to be determined and industry will investigate the most feasible way for this to be done. The Government will in all cases bear the cost of this alternative.
We await the response of the Federal Opposition which has proposed mandatory ISP level filtering be imposed on all internet users in Australia.
***
Internet industry and ALP response to Net Alert
ISP-level filters 'unworkable' SMH 10.08.07
Opposition communications spokesman Stephen Conroy accused the Government of rehashing old announcements in an attempt to portray a tough stance on internet safety in the lead-up to the federal election.
Steve Dalby, chief regulatory officer at iiNet, said filtering the internet at the ISP level, as opposed to installing filtering software on the home computer, was unworkable and would "affect the performance of the network quite significantly".
"It's hard to understand ... how people will make decisions at the network about what Mr and Mrs Average ought to see, and you're talking about a censoring service provided by the private sector," Dalby said.
"It's much more efficient to do the filtering at the customer's end where they've got control over what they do and don't want to filter out."
John Lindsay, carrier relations manager at Internode, said although the Government had committed to funding the ISP filtering proposal, there was no guarantee the money would last beyond the initial infrastructure roll-out, which may force carriers to push up their prices.
"The Government convinced us to invest millions of dollars in regional broadband in South Australia on the basis that they would fund us as we connected people and then they ran out of money and left us with a $1 million hole," he said.
Lindsay said there would also be legal ramifications for ISPs because it was impossible to guarantee all nasty content would be filtered.
"What's going to happen is we are going to have a whole bunch of irate parents suing us because little Johnny saw a bad picture on the internet," he said.
Senator Coonan acknowledged that previous research had shown ISP level filtering was "still in its infancy", but said she was confident the solution developed would be suitable for ISPs.
Telstra, Optus, iiNet and Internode all said they first heard of Senator Coonan's proposal this morning, although Peter Coroneos, chief executive of the Internet Industry Association, said he had been in consultation with the Government for some time.
Mr Coroneos was generally supportive of the Government but said he was unsure how the scheme could be implemented across the industry.
"There has been two Government studies done in the last three or four years that have actually tested ISP, server-level filtering [and] in all cases there was a significant degradation in performance," he said.
"It's like putting the entire water supply into your house through a fine filter," he said.
Dale Clapperton, chairman of the online users' lobby group Electronic Frontiers Australia, said he was "appalled" by Senator Coonan's announcement.
"This is a rehash of Labor's rehash of a discredited Howard Government policy, and when Labor rehashed it Senator Coonan denounced that rehash as being a waste of money," Mr Clapperton said.
"Coming so soon after the Government announced its $1 billion project to improve the speed of regional broadband access and at a time when Telstra and the G9 consortium are fighting to build a fibre-to-the-node network in built up areas, this announcement, which threatens to reduce the speed of internet access for all Australians, could not have come at a worse time."
Labor's proposal is far more radical and would require ISPs to filter all internet connections.
"We have an opt-out provision, so for X-rated [content] they can opt out, but for child porn and violent sites, they're completely blocked, there's no opt-out," Senator Conroy said.
Mr Coroneos said while the Government's proposal wasn't perfect, it was certainly preferable to Labor's, which "would be impossible to implement and would have many unintended negative consequences".
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More views on Net Alert
Backflip on internet filter The Australian 11.08.07
Senator Coonan yesterday said the Government would be "footing the bill" for those parents who chose to have the ISP filter, saying it was "one of the answers". But in March last year she paraded research by the Government's NetAlert agency, which found ISP filters to be white elephants.
Ironically, Senator Coonan used the research to attack then Labor leader Kim Beazley, who had announced a policy of mandating a "clean feed" filtered internet service.
"All server-level filters tested had a major impact on network performance, ranging from 18 per cent degradation for the best performing filter to 78 per cent for the worst-performing," Senator Coonan said last year.
"A previous government review ... also found that it would involve implementation costs of around $45 million and ongoing costs of more than $33 million per annum for the ISPs for questionable benefit."
A spokeswoman for Senator Coonan last night said the Labor model was inferior to the Coalition's plan, and that while at this stage PC filters were best, technology was improving for ISP systems.
It also emerged yesterday that while the Government in June commissioned the Australian Communications and Media Authority to conduct a feasibility trial of an ISP filter system, it has decided to proceed with the plan before this study gets under way.
Intellectual property expert Kimberlee Weatherall yesterday observed that Australia would be joining authoritarian countries including China, Saudi Arabia and Iran in introducing ISP filters. The NSW president of the Council for Civil Liberties, Cameron Murphy, said the Government's policy was a curtailment of freedom of choice for adults, and a bid to win the Christian vote. "This whole approach reflects the Government's policy of increasing the level of censorship in Australia -- will the next step be to ban political material deemed inappropriate for the internet?"
Mr Murphy drew an analogy with moves to ban some Islamic propaganda.
"Would it not be better to allow the public access to material presenting the Islamic view of issues which led to September 11, and let them decide for themselves?" he asked.
But the internet pornography crackdown was welcomed by the Australian Christian Lobby, and churches. Assemblies of God national secretary Keith Ainge said the initiative would "assist parents in safeguarding their children".
AOG is closely linked with Hillsong Church, whose members have backed Liberal candidates including Hillsong activist Louise Markus who won the outer Sydney seat of Greenway from Labor at the last election. The president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Archbishop Philip Wilson, said the Government's move was "a great step forward in protecting families from the dangers of the web, including pornography, child sex predators and violence".
***
Electronic Frontiers Australia on Net Alert
Electronic Frontiers Australia
Media Release
11 August 2007
EFA appalled by filtering Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) is appalled by Friday's announcement that the federal government will force all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Australia to provide 'filtered' Internet connections upon request.
This 'initiative' is nothing more than a tiresome repeat of previously announced and abandoned policies, and comes before the government has even conducted their recently-announced feasibility study of ISP-level filtering. The government has also failed to implement their National Filter Scheme, first announced in June 2006 and aimed at providing free PC-based filters, and they have now announced it once again. The Minister has no credibility in this matter.
'Internet censorship to "save the children" has always been a political "free kick" for both sides of politics,' said EFA Chair Dale Clapperton. 'It seems that in the lead-up to the federal election, the Howard government wants to be seen to be "doing something" to make the Internet safe for children.'
'In Internet censorship, everything old is new again. This announcement is a rehash of a Labor rehash of a discredited Howard government policy; and when Labor rehashed it, Senator Coonan rightly denounced it as being a waste of money.'
'Unfortunately, ISP based filtering will not make the Internet safe for children, and may even cause harm in and of itself. If parents are deceived into believing that a "filtered" Internet service is safe for children, they will be less likely to take sensible precautions such as supervising their children while they use the Internet.'
Where filtering is necessary, EFA has always endorsed the use of filters by the end user, since they provide at least some level of control over content, and can be customised to the particular needs of each family. 'Parents need to ask themselves what criteria will be used to filter these services,' Clapperton continued.
'ISP-based filtering is a blunt instrument, based on the assumption that one size fits all, the government knows best, and end users have absolutely no control over what material has been censored. Only parents can decide what content is appropriate for their children.'
'A requirement to provide filtered services will impose significant up-front and ongoing costs on all Australian ISPs. It will also expose them to legal liability when the filters inevitably fail to block inappropriate material. These costs will be passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices for Internet access.'
The proposal would also likely cause a significant reduction in the speed of Internet access. 'Coming so soon after the Government announced its $1 billion project to improve the speed of regional broadband access, and at a time when Telstra and the G9 consortium are fighting to build a fibre-to-the-node network in built up areas, this announcement, which threatens to reduce the speed of Internet access for all Australians, could not have come at a worse time.'
'We are also gravely concerned that this announcement is merely the thin end of the wedge. Once the government-mandated infrastructure is in place at all ISPs to supply this "opt-in" filtering, it is a very small step to change it to an "opt-out" system, or even a system where each and every Internet connection is censored by the ISP, whether the customer wants it or not.'
'Right-wing religious groups have long campaigned for blanket censorship of Internet content at an ISP level,' said Clapperton. 'But Australians generally are opposed to excessive government control, and we believe they will see through this latest announcement as little more than a cheap political stunt,' Clapperton concluded.
-- Ends --
Below is: - Background information - Contact details for media
About EFA:
Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc. ("EFA") is a non-profit national organisation representing Internet users concerned with on-line rights and freedoms. EFA was established in 1994, is independent of government and commerce, and is funded by membership subscriptions and donations from individuals and organisations with an altruistic interest in promoting online civil liberties.
Media Contact:
Mr Dale Clapperton EFA Chair
Phone: 0416 007 100
Email: dclapperton at efa.org.au
Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc
http://www.efa.org.au
***
Coonan Attacks the ALP's Plans
Senator the Hon Helen Coonan
Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts
Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate
Media Release 109/07
Monday 13 August 2007
Plenty of time for Kevin07 but no time for families
Following the launch of the Howard Government’s $189 million NetAlert Protecting Australian Families Online programme, the response from Labor has again highlighted their disregard for the dangers facing children using the internet, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator the Hon Helen Coonan said today.
“Whilst the Government’s comprehensive programme will provide families with the necessary tools to protect their children in the increasingly complex internet environment, Labor’s online child protection policy contains only one measure and not a single dollar of funding.
“And even then, Labor’s one policy idea is a complete cut and paste of British Telecom’s proprietary internet filter product, ‘CleanFeed’.
“But I am not surprised that Kevin Rudd has done little more than dust off Kim Beazley’s old internet safety policy and re-launch it last week.
“Kevin Rudd’s interest in the internet begins and ends with his own self promotion.
“As far as families are concerned, Mr Rudd would do better spending less time working on his Kevin07 internet site and more time working on their internet concerns.
“Labor is patently not interested in helping parents make the internet safer for their families and in fact, I question Mr Rudd’s family credentials across the board.
“Since elected to the seat of Griffith almost nine years ago, Kevin Rudd has only spoken on two bills related to the family portfolio in his whole parliamentary career and one of those was the NT legislation last week.
“Before this speech, Mr Rudd’s only other contribution to a family bill was over eight years ago, and even then, he couldn’t bring himself to mention families once in the speech.
“Australian families have every right to be asking themselves where Kevin Rudd has been over the past eight and a half years if he has not been debating issues that matter most to them.
“For a man trying to market himself as Australia’s next Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd stands to be condemned by his appalling record,” Senator Coonan said.
By contrast, the Howard Government has an outstanding record on internet safety and many other policy areas affecting Australian families.
The Government’s NetAlert programme will provide:
• Over $43 million extra for the Australian Federal Police’s (AFP) Online Children Sex Exploitation Team (OCSET) to double the numbers of officers who monitor chatrooms and web sites, and engage in other activity to track down online child predators;
• The $84.8 million National Filter Scheme to provide access to the best available internet filtering technology free to every Australian family;
• Free filtering for every public library across Australia;
• More funding for the Commonwealth Director of Prosecutions;
• Over $11 million to expand the NetAlert Outreach programme enabling internet safety officers to visit schools and give parents hands-on information about internet dangers;
• Over $22 million to fund a comprehensive public information and education campaign about internet safety;
• The establishment of a special Working Group between the AFP and industry to tackle the issue of social networking sites – where predators often seek to target young people, and
• Investigation of how the Australian Child Offenders Register (of convicted child sex offenders) might be used to keep paedophiles away from children online. “This Government has always taken the issue of protecting our families seriously. In fact, Australia has led the world in managing the risks associated with the internet starting with the Online Content Scheme in 1999, a model opposed by Labor,” Senator Coonan said.
“Parenting is a tough job in today’s modern world and parents want real assistance to help them keep their children safe, not mock concern from a Prime Ministerial aspirant who has only jumped on the family bandwagon as we head towards the election.
“Only the Howard Government is serious about protecting children and that’s why we have a world’s best, fully funded and whole-of-government response to internet safety,” Senator Coonan said.
***
How about some parental responsibility!
Filtered logic 14.08.07 Courier Mail
As a dedicated collector of horror, exploitation and cult films it comes with the territory, and I make no apologies for it.
When my children are here, however, shelves of my DVD collection are emptied and the films locked away.
The children don't even need to see the covers of DVDs such as Cannibal Ferox or I Spit on Your Grave and other titles I won't even mention in a family newspaper.
Nor do they ever use the computer without supervision.
As an adult, and a film buff, I believe I have a right to decide what I want to view, be that online or from the shelves of my collection.
As a father, it is my duty to determine what my children (aged 8 and 10) should be exposed to.
It's called parental responsibility.
But apparently in this Brave New Era of the nanny state, we parents can't be trusted to control cyberspace. So Big Brother will do it for us.
John Howard announced last week – significantly in a webcast to some 700 churches – that he would be cracking down on internet pornography. Every Australian family will receive a free internet filter and government will enter a "partnership" with ISPs to filter pornography at the source.
At this stage the "filter at the source" proposal is on an "opt-in" basis. That is, you can contact your ISP and ask them to automatically filter out the naughty stuff.
Who decides what constitutes offensive material, however, is another thing, bearing in mind that one man's pornography is another man's art.
Some of us are quite comfortable viewing explicit non-violent erotica at home. Others are offended by topless sunbaking on the beach. Each to their own. If you don't like it, don't look.
The problem arises when personal choice for discerning adults is removed from the equation.
It is only a small step to shift "opt in" filtering of material to automatic or blanket filtering. With a small stroke of a legislative pen we may find ourselves all "filtered" – for the sake of the children and, of course, the Christian vote.
Remember that even on free-to-air television there is a wealth of material – nudity, violence and profanity – that many may find offensive and many would deem children should not be viewing.
The solution there is simple. Set the viewing rules, turn the television off, or send the children to bed.
***
NetAlert is launched
Senator the Hon Helen Coonan
Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts
Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate
Media Release 113/07
Monday 20 August 2007
NetAlert – Protecting Australian Families Online goes live
The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator the Hon Helen Coonan, announced that from today Australian families will be able to download free filters for their home computers and get practical advice about internet safety from a dedicated hotline and web address.
“Recently, together with the Prime Minister, I announced the details of the $189 million NetAlert - Protecting Australian Families Online programme. Today with the launch of the hotline, web address and filters, the programme is going live.
“The Howard Government recognises that no single measure can protect children from online harm and in fact, traditional parenting skills have never been more important.
“Tackling internet safety can be compared to wearing a seatbelt.
“Although a seatbelt goes a long way to protecting you in a car accident, it is only part of the solution to keeping safe on the roads. Making the internet safe for our children is no different.
“Danger online is just a click away but this multi-faceted programme, combining services, education, regulation and policing ensures that Australian families can get the best from the internet, whilst minimising potential harm,” Senator Coonan said.
Every Australian family and library will have access to a free filter through the $84.8 million National Filter Scheme. Parents, grandparents and carers will be able to download or order a CD-ROM accredited and tested internet content filter.
“All filter vendors under the scheme will be required to continually update their products to allow for advancements in technology and actively discourage the circumvention of their products.
“However, the NetAlert - Protecting Australian Families Online initiative goes beyond just technology,” Senator Coonan said.
“For the Australian Federal Police we have doubled the number of online police tracking down internet predators with an extra $43 million in funding and will be working with schools and communities through a comprehensive outreach program and more internet safety officers.
“We are tackling social networking sites with a new working group including industry, the Australian Federal Police and the internet regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to address the use of social networking websites by predators to contact and groom children on the internet.”
Senator Coonan said parents, grandparents and carers can visit www.australia.gov.au/netalert from 10:30am today and call 1800 880 176 from 8am today seven days a week from 8am to 10pm for advice about managing online safety, as well as access to free internet content filters, and information about how they work. “
Today’s launch of practical measures ensures that Australian families can reap the benefits of the online world but at the same time be armed with the information and products they need to limit the very serious risks the internet can pose to children and vulnerable young people,” Senator Coonan said.
***
Porn Filter Cracked
Student cracks Government's $84m porn filter. Herald Sun 26.08.07
A MELBOURNE schoolboy has cracked the Federal Government's new $84 million internet porn filter in minutes.
Tom Wood, 16, said it took him just over 30 minutes to bypass the Government's filter, released on Tuesday.
Tom, a year 10 student at a southeast Melbourne private school, showed the Herald Sun how to deactivate the filter in a handful of clicks.
His technique ensures the software's toolbar icon is not deleted, leaving parents under the impression the filter is still working.
In response to the Herald Sun's inquiries, the Government added an Australian designed filter, Integard, to the website on Friday, which Tom cracked within 40 minutes.
Senator Coonan said the Government had anticipated children would try and find ways to get around the NetAlert filters, and suppliers were contracted to provided continuing updates.
"The vendor is investigating the matter as a priority," Senator Coonan said.
"Unfortunately, no single measure can protect children from online harm and ... traditional parenting skills have never been more important."
***
Helen Coonan responds to the hacking story.
Senator the Hon Helen Coonan
Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts
Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate
Media Release 121/07
Monday 27 August 2007
NetAlert’s comprehensive internet safety programme
The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator the Hon Helen Coonan has reiterated the importance of a comprehensive approach to internet safety issues and the critical need for parents to be actively involved in their child’s internet use.
“The Government takes internet safety seriously and that is why our NetAlert programme covers a support hotline for parents, new funding for online police, information and education campaign, mandatory ISP level filtering and filters for the home computer among other measures.
“But there is no silver bullet that can protect children online and that’s why the Government’s $189 million programme is designed to provide broadest possible line of defence in the protection of Australian families.
“Sadly, just as a seatbelt will never prevent every fatal car crash, as the Government has always maintained, no filter is foolproof. But a computer with a filter is infinitely safer than one without,” Senator Coonan said.
The internet content filters offered through NetAlert – Protecting Australian Families Online were subjected to independent testing through the Australian Government’s rigorous tendering process and all successful vendors have committed to continually upgrading and improving their filters.
“We have always known that putting filters out in the market would be tantamount to issuing a challenge to internet savvy teenagers to get around the technology. Just as kids push the envelope with a whole range of risky behaviours, internet use and abuse is no different. But that’s not a reason to hold back on filtering, because just like seatbelts, if they are combined with other measures, are a very practical safety device, said Senator Coonan.
All filters available as part of the National Filter Scheme are subject to ongoing upgrades and use a range of tools (such as technical updates and human hackers working for the filter providers) to ensure they remain ahead of the game here and overseas.
“Once a parent downloads and installs a filter, it is continually upgraded each and every time the computer is shut down and rebooted. Continual protection and upgrades are a key part of the filter program and all filter providers use human and technical means to ensure they are providing world’s best filtering technology.
“On the back of the unconfirmed report of recent filter ‘hacking’, the filter providers have responded rapidly and take any report of vulnerability seriously to ensure their filters stay ahead of new threats.
“I am advised that most hacking occurs when a child gains access to the parent’s administrator password, so I encourage parents to take responsibility for downloading and installing filters themselves so that they are the administrators of the software - and the actual computer’s operating system - and that they protect this status accordingly.
“Parents who want help are encouraged to call the special internet safety hotline 1800 880 176 which is open 7 days per week between 8am and 10pm.
“In coming weeks, the Australian Government will be distributing internet safety information and advice across Australia to assist parents and carers to manage their family’s internet experience. “This will be underpinned by $11.7 million over four years to fund the NetAlert ACMA School Outreach Program, which will effectively treble the school and community visits made to give parents and teachers ‘hands-on’ internet education.”
NetAlert - Protecting Australian Families Online
COMPREHENSIVE ONLINE PROTECTION FOR AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN LAW ENFORCEMENT NETALERT RESPONSE
POLICE FUNDING $43.5 million over4 years additional funding for AFP to combat online child sex exploitation
JUSTICE Australian Government to lead a Consultative Working Group to address use of social networking sites for predatory contact with children
PROSECUTION RESOURCES $1.4 million for year one and $2.8m thereafter to deal with increased Online Child Sex Exploitation Team (OCSET) referrals
AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY Over $7.1 million to deal with additional investigations into online content, expansion of the ACMA Blacklist, and NetAlert resourcing
INTERNATIONAL CHILD PROTECTION COOPERATION $0.5m for Australia to take a lead in finding new and more effective methods to deal with illegal content hosted overseas
FILTERS PC based filters with ISP filtered service option
CHOICE FOR CONSUMERS Variety of filters to choose from with different functions T
ESTING Products independently tested to ensure meet minimum standards of efficacy
ONGOING PRODUCT ENHANCEMENT Agreed enhancement timetable built into contracts with vendors COST $84.8 million
WEBSITE AND FAMILY HELP LINE Over $9.2 million for NetAlert to provide internet safety advice, a dedicated family support helpline and website
PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM AND PUBLIC AWARENESS RAISING Over $22 million over 3 years to raise public awareness of issues, educate parents and carers and to create partnerships with law enforcement agencies, schools and community groups
SCHOOL OUTREACH PROGRAM $11.7 million over 4 years to fund the NetAlert ACMA School Outreach Program
***
ALP wants to ban anorexia websites.
Labor to ban websites promoting eating disorders Daily Telegraph 02.09.07
KEVIN Rudd said a Labor government will ban Internet sites advocating anorexia after the Howard Government put the issue in the too-hard basket.
Opposition Health spokeswoman Nicola Roxon promised the initiative following the Government's rejection of a campaign by Labor backbencher Anna Burke to get the current laws changed.
In letters to Ms Burke, the Australian Communications Media Authority informed her that, in the authority's view, the impact of the so-called "pro-ana'' sites was regarded as "no greater than moderate''.
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock also advised Ms Burke that: "Ultimately it remains the responsibility of parents or guardians to make decisions about appropriate entertainment material for their children''.
This was despite Ms Burke pointing out that the "pro-ana'' sites - regarded by some as suicide sites - promote anorexia regimes for pregnant women and give teenage girls tips on how to disguise their bulimic vomiting from their parents.
Ms Roxon said: "Any responsible government would be looking at shutting down these sites and the ALP will look at all options''.
Ms Burke says one option would be to establish formal links with anti-anorexia lobby groups in the US.
***
Helen Coonan responds to the ALP anorexia web ban.
Senator the Hon Helen Coonan
Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts
Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate
Media Release 128/07
Monday 3 September 2007
Labor too late on pro-anorexia websites
The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator the Hon Helen Coonan, today called on Opposition health spokeswoman Nicola Roxon to get behind the Howard Government’s world-leading NetAlert initiative.
“I note Nicola Roxon’s comments in the media yesterday, calling for action on pro-anorexia websites.
“Coincidentally, I launched the information campaign for NetAlert – Protecting Australian Families Online yesterday, so there has never been a more opportune time to talk about the way young people use the internet, the potential risks of the online environment, and what the Government is actually doing to empower parents to tailor their children’s internet experience.
“NetAlert is providing parents with the tools they need to reduce the risk of their children accessing illegal, inappropriate or offensive online material and activities that parents or carers believe are harmful. This includes helping parents deal with social and health issues, such as eating disorders and bullying that can be exacerbated by inappropriate and unsupervised internet use.
“The greatest tool that we have in protecting Australia’s most precious asset, our children and young people, is the active involvement of parents, grandparents and other carers of children.
“I am encouraging parents to use the SEE principle of Supervise, Educate and Equip to help protect their families from offensive material online.
“This includes the use of filtering technology to block access to material that parents would prefer their children not to see.
“Parents can enter keywords to help block websites containing those words, or the filters can be used to help block entire categories of content.
“There are a number of categories that can be blocked, including, in at least one of the filters, pro-anorexia and drug-related websites,” said Senator Coonan.
“The filters also allow parents to limit their child’s time on the internet and monitor sites that have been visited by their children.
“However, we have never claimed that there is a silver bullet when it comes to online safety,” said Senator Coonan.
“Our collaborative approach has been to develop a comprehensive response to give parents, grandparents and other carers of children, the tools they need to protect children online.
Over the next few weeks, the Australian Government will distribute internet safety information and advice to Australian parents and carers to help manage their family’s internet experience.
Senator Coonan said the information would include internet safety strategies and offer a free internet filter to suit each family’s values and needs.
“Together with the Prime Minister, I announced the details of NetAlert in August, yet Labor still seems to have no understanding of the programme and what it will achieve.
“So I say to Ms Roxon, and indeed Labor leader Kevin Rudd, you should have a good look at the NetAlert initiative before levelling criticism. The Australian public understand these are complex issues. They want practical support to help combat the dangers their children face online, not vague promises.
“I’ve said time and time again that the protection of children is our highest priority and should be above politics and I welcome the support of all parliamentarians, regardless of political affiliation, for this world-leading initiative.
“The Howard Government has a serious commitment to protecting our children online, that is why we have delivered a comprehensive programme to using the broadest possible line of defence in protecting Australian families online,” said Senator Coonan.
Parents, grandparents and carers can visit www.australia.gov.au/netalert or call the help line on 1800 880 176 for advice about managing online safety, as well as access to free internet content filters, and information about how they work.
***
Helen Coonan on Net Alert
Senator the Hon Helen Coonan
Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts
Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate
Media Release
Saturday 8 September 2007
Extreme Material just a mouse click away
The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator the Hon Helen Coonan, was at the Launceston State Library today as part of the NetAlert—Protecting Australian Families Online campaign.
“I have been travelling around the country as part of National Child Protection Week to talk with Australians about how best to protect our children and young people from inappropriate content and contact online. “Parents, grandparents and carers have all stressed to me how concerned they are about the disturbing images of extreme violence and pornography that are just a few mouse clicks away.
“The Howard Government has a serious commitment to protecting our children online that is why we have delivered a comprehensive programme using the broadest possible line of attack in the protection of Australian families online.
“NetAlert – Protecting Australian Families Online is a $189 million initiative combining technology, education, awareness and advice, regulation and policing to ensure that Australian families can get the best of the internet, whilst minimising potential harm,” Senator Coonan said.
“There are a number of practical steps that parents can take to prevent their children from coming into contact with extreme violence or pornography.
“Independent research found that more than half of teenagers surveyed said they had visited websites that their parents would have preferred them not to.
“Encourage young people – especially young children – to come to you if they encounter something disturbing or traumatic online.
Senator Coonan said an element of NetAlert is the $85 million National Filter Scheme which will provide access to the best available internet filtering technology, free to every Australian family through personal computer or ISP-based filtering and for public libraries.
“The filters are a tool to help parents deal with social and health issues, such as eating disorders and bullying that can be exacerbated by unsupervised internet use.
“Parents can enter keywords to help block websites containing those words, or the filters can be used to help block entire categories of content.
“It is wonderful to be at the Launceston State Library today, as the Tasmanian Government is one of only two State and Territory Governments in the country that recognise how important it is to provide a filtering service at our public libraries.
“Whilst all state and territories offer a filtered service for schools, with the exception of Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, Labor State Government’s have simply failed to require a similar standard in libraries.
“Although striking the balance between filtered child friendly computers and the needs of adults and legitimate researchers can be difficult, child safety must come first,” Senator Coonan said.
“What we are recommending is that each library is set up with a child friendly terminal so that our children can safely use a public computer located in a library.
“For a child or young person without internet access at home, often their only chance to access the internet is a public library. So it is essential that the State and Territory Labor Government’s act immediately to protect our children in public libraries,” Senator Coonan said.
Parents, grandparents and carers can visit www.australia.gov.au/netalert or call the help line on 1800 880 176 for advice about managing online safety, as well as access to free internet content filters, and information about how they work.
***
Communications Legislation Amendment (Crime or Terrorism Related Internet Content) Bill 2007
On September 20th Helen Coonan introduced the Communications Legislation Amendment (Crime or Terrorism Related Internet Content) Bill 2007 into the senate. The bill proposed to give the Federal Police commissioner the power to block and ban websites believed to be crime or terrorism related.
EM type EM
Bill number 07184
Date 20 September, 2007
Database Explanatory memoranda
Source Senate
(Circulated by authority of the
Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts,
Senator the Honourable Helen Coonan
COMMUNICATIONS LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (CRIME OR TERRORISM RELATED INTERNET CONTENT) BILL 2007
OUTLINE This bill proposes to amend Schedule 5 to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (BSA) to expand the ‘black list’ of internet addresses (URLs) that is currently maintained by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) to include terrorism and cyber crime sites.
The proposed amendments would allow the Australian Federal Police to notify ACMA in writing of websites that they have reason to believe are crime or terrorism-related.
In response to a notice received from the AFP, the ACMA must notify internet service providers (ISPs) of the crime or terrorism-related content. The notification to ISPs will be in accordance with either the procedure contained in the applicable industry code of practice or industry standard, or absent such a code of practice procedure, by issuing a standard access prevention notice. ISPs notified by the ACMA would be required to take reasonable steps to prevent end-users of their Internet service from accessing that crime or terrorism-related Internet content.
It is anticipated that the current code of practice arrangements will continue in future, subject to such changes as are necessary to accommodate crime or terrorism-related content that is notified to the ACMA by the AFP. This would mean that, in accordance with the code, the ACMA would notify crime or terrorism-related content to accredited Internet content filter vendors in addition to the ISPs. Filter vendors are accredited by the Internet Industry Association (Family Friendly Filters). When they are notified by the ACMA of certain crime or terrorism-related content, vendors of Family Friendly Filters would need to update their filters and supply these to those end-users who have requested a filter (including a filter via the Government’s NetAlert: Protecting Australian Families Online initiative).
COMMUNICATIONS LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (CRIME OR TERRORISM RELATED INTERNET CONTENT) BILL 2007: First Reading
Date 20 September, 2007
Database Senate Hansard
Page 10
Proof No
Source Senate
Stage First Reading
Type Procedural text Context Bills
COMMUNICATIONS LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (CRIME OR TERRORISM RELATED INTERNET CONTENT) BILL 2007
First Reading
Senator ABETZ (Tasmania —Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (9.59 a.m.)—At the request of Senator Coonan, I move: That the following bill be introduced: A Bill for an Act to amend the law relating to communications, and for related purposes.
Question agreed to.
Senator ABETZ (Tasmania —Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (9.59 a.m.)—I present the bill and move: That this bill may proceed without formalities and be now read a first time.
Question agreed to.
Bill read a first time.
COMMUNICATIONS LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (CRIME OR TERRORISM RELATED INTERNET CONTENT) BILL 2007: Second Reading
Date 20 September, 2007
Database Senate Hansard
Speaker Abetz, Sen Eric (Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (Manager
of Government Business in the Senate, LP, Tasmania, Government)
Page 11
Proof No
Source Senate
Stage Second Reading
Type Speech
Context Bills
COMMUNICATIONS LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (CRIME OR
TERRORISM RELATED INTERNET CONTENT) BILL 2007
Second Reading
Speech Senator ABETZ (Tasmania—Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (9.59 a.m.)—I table the explanatory memorandum relating to the bill and move:
That this bill be now read a second time.
I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.
Leave granted.
The speech read as follows—
Cyber crime is on the increase globally, with criminals abusing the anonymity of the online world to carry out offences ranging from unwanted sexual approaches to online fraud.
The Government’s recent review of the E-Security National Agenda found that the e-security landscape has changed significantly with the emergence of sophisticated, targeted and malicious online attacks. Many of these attacks are associated with websites used by criminals to perpetrate fraud or circulate malicious software.
This Bill proposes to amend the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to expand the black list of Internet addresses (URLs) that is currently maintained by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to include crime and terrorism related websites hosted domestically and overseas. Black listing cyber crime and terrorism websites is part of the Government’s comprehensive NetAlert—Protecting Australian Families Online initiative.
Under the current BSA, material that is ‘prohibited content’, determined by application of the National Classification Scheme (NCS) guidelines, can be added to the designated notification scheme (DNS), colloquially known as the black list. The proposed amendments will allow the Australian Federal Police Commissioner to refer additional Internet content that is outside the NCS to ACMA for black listing.
Domestic and overseas hosted sites that encourage, incite, induce or facilitate the commission of a Commonwealth offence, such as ‘phishing’ websites, and websites which promote, fundraise or recruit for terrorist organisations will be added to the black list. For example, a false bank website that is designed to obtain people’s banking passwords to steal money from their account could be added to the black list.
The black list is used by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to automatically filter sites where customers have subscribed to a filtered service. It is also provided to Family Friendly Filter members of the Internet Industry Association (IIA) so they can upgrade their filter products.
Filter suppliers under the NetAlert—Protecting Australian Families Online program are required to filter the ACMA black list websites. This means that all families that take advantage of the free NetAlert filters will benefit from the expanded black list.
The new arrangements will allow harmful sites to be more quickly added to software filters. Of course the best outcome is for these sites to be taken down and their hosts prosecuted. But this takes time, particularly as most of these sites are hosted overseas.
Rapid black listing means that the damage these sites can do can be more quickly reduced whilst take-down and prosecution processes are pursued, usually overseas. A website only needs to be online for a short period to do harm.
The guidelines for black listing crime and terrorism related websites will be made by the Attorney-General and will be publicly available on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments and also subject to Parliamentary scrutiny as a disallowable instrument under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Ordered that further consideration of the second reading of this bill be adjourned to the first sitting day of the next period of sittings, in accordance with standing order 111.
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Criticism of the Crime or Terrorism Related Internet Content Bill 2007
Coonan seeks to censor the Web. The Australian 20.09.07
Communications Minister Senator Helen Coonan proposes to include terrorism and cyber-crime sites on ACMA's hit list The bombshell web ban bill was tabled in the Senate at 9:58am, without prior notice.
Communications Minister Senator Helen Coonan proposes to expand the "black list" of internet addresses (URLs) currently maintained by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to include terrorism and cyber-crime sites.
Under the proposed amendment, Federal Police will inform ACMA of websites to be blocked, and the agency must then notify the relevant internet service providers. ISPs will be required to "take reasonable steps" to prevent users accessing the website or content.
Australian Privacy Foundation chair Roger Clarke expressed disbelief that "the government of any country in the free world could table a Bill of this kind".
"Without warning, the Government, through Senator Coonan, is proposing to provide Federal Police with powers to censor the internet," Dr Clarke said.
"Even worse, ISPs throughout the country are to be the vehicle for censorship, by being required to block internet content."
Greens Senator Kerry Nettle said the Bill would give the Police Commissioner "enormous power over what political content Australians can look at" on the web.
"This gives the Commissioner sweeping powers which could potentially be applied to millions of websites," she said. "The Government has dropped the Bill into the Senate on the eve of an election with virtually no explanation."
Senator Nettle said environmental organisations such as Greenpeace had been accused of crime or terrorism-related actions. "Will the Police Commissioner call for Greenpeace's website to be shut down?"
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EFA respond to the Crime or Terrorism Related Internet Content Bill 2007
EFA Slams Police Censorship Bill Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) today slammed a Bill introduced into the Senate which would give members of the Australian Federal Police powers to ban access to Internet content.
The Communications Legislation Amendment (Crime or Terrorism Related Internet Content) Bill 2007 would, if enacted, give senior members of the Australian Federal Police powers to ban access to Internet content which they "have reason to believe":
encourages, incites, or induces the commission of a Commonwealth offence; or was published in part to facilitate the commission of such an offence; or that it is likely to have the effect of facilitating the commission of such an offence. "This Bill is another step in Australia's descent into a police state," said EFA Chairperson Dale Clapperton. "It will give sweeping and unchecked powers to the Federal Police to ban access to Internet material by decree. There is no place for these powers in a liberal democracy such as Australia."
The powers granted by the Bill, which can be delegated to senior members of the Federal Police, have an unacceptably low threshold test, requiring merely that the person "have reason to believe" that the material falls into one of the classes set out above.
"This 'reason to believe' could be based on material that would be inadmissible in a court of law, obtained unlawfully, or on rumour, innuendo, or gossip," Clapperton continued. "There are no provisions in the Bill for an appeal or review of a decision by the police to ban access to material. The operations of police agencies which affect the rights of individuals should always be subject to judicial oversight. The mistakes made by the Federal Police during the Haneef debacle demonstrate that the police are not infallible and that the courts play a vital role in protecting the rights of individuals."
"There are already mechanisms available for the police and the government to deal with Internet content that is illegal," Clapperton said. "The Federal Police do not require and should not have the power to ban access to Internet material merely because of what they 'believe' about it."
"This legislation has nothing to do with terrorism. Its powers apply to all offences under a law of the Commonwealth - even copyright infringement. The reference to 'terrorism related Internet content' is a transparent attempt to deter criticism of the substance of the Bill."
EFA strongly believes that any powers which would restrict the freedom of speech of individuals should only be available in extraordinary circumstances and where there are procedures for ensuring accountability and judicial oversight in place.
"These laws will be open to massive abuses by the police. They could, for example, be used to prevent access to websites organising protest marches or rallies against the government, or advocating for the legalisation of euthanasia. To the extent that this legislation allows the police to ban access to material discussing political matters, it is probably unconstitutional."
EFA urges the Australian Government to abandon this poorly reasoned Bill.
About EFA:
Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc. ("EFA") is a non-profit national organisation representing Internet users concerned with on-line rights and freedoms. EFA was established in 1994, is independent of government and commerce, and is funded by membership subscriptions and donations from individuals and organisations with an altruistic interest in promoting online civil liberties.
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NSWCCL respond to the Crime or Terrorism Related Internet Content Bill 2007
NEW SOUTH WALES COUNCIL FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES INC
149 ST JOHNS ROAD GLEBE NSW 2037 AUSTRALIA
PHONE (02) 9660 7582
FAX (02) 9566 4162
MEDIA RELEASE
CCL condemns plan to let police censor the internet
Sunday, 23 September 2007 NSWCCL media release: 10/2007
Earlier this week in the Senate, the federal Communications Minister Senator Helen Coonan introduced legislation giving the Australian Federal Police the power to decide what Australians can and cannot see on the internet.
On 20 September 2007, in what was possibly the last sitting day of the current parliament, the Minister introduced the Communications Legislation Amendment (Crime or Terrorism Related Internet Content) Bill 2007 (Cth).
“This Bill gives police the unprecedented power to order the censorship of the internet in Australia”, said Mr Murphy.
“This Bill is leading us to a very dark place. A place where the police decide what we can and cannot see”, Mr Murphy said.
“The federal Parliament is supposed to protect our freedom, not give it away”, said Mr Murphy.
“The government has consistently refused to give the courts the power to protect our freedom of speech, but now it’s shown itself willing to throw our freedom away and give it to the police”, said Mr Murphy.
“This Bill is just unbelievable. This Bill does not belong on the statute books of a free and democratic society”, Mr Murphy said. Under the Bill, if the AFP Commissioner (or Deputy Commissioner or other AFP senior executive officer) believes that internet content (hosted anywhere in the world) is crime-related or terrorism-related, then he or she can order the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to direct all Australian internet service providers (ISPs) to prevent end-users from accessing the content.
Content is 'crime-related' or 'terrorism-related' if it encourages, incites, induces, facilitates or is likely to facilitate the commission of a federal crime. “The Bill gives the police unprecedented power over what we Australians can and cannot see. Once the police commissioner has ordered the filtering of internet content, then only the police commissioner will have the power to revoke the order. That’s what they do in a police state”, Mr Murphy said.
"It's unacceptable that the courts won't have much power to overturn the police commissioner's order to censor the internet", Mr Murphy said. The courts will not be able to review whether the content is actually related to crime or terrorism. The courts will not be able to consider issues of free speech (other than political speech). The courts will only be able to review whether the police commissioner had 'reason to believe' that the content was related to crime or terrorism.
“The time is long overdue for a referendum to insert a full Bill of Rights into the Constitution. Our freedom of speech is too precious to leave to the ‘protection’ of people who, like Senator Coonan, are happier abolishing our freedom,” said Mr Murphy. The Bill has only been introduced into the Senate. The Senate has not debated or voted on the Bill. The Bill has not yet been introduced in the House of Representatives. If a federal election is called, then the Bill will 'lapse' and it will have to be re-introduced before a vote can be taken.
For more information contact: Cameron Murphy, NSWCCL President, 0411-769-769
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Criticism of the Crime or Terrorism Related Internet Content Bill 2007
Critics slam net block plan. The Australian 25.09.07
A spokesman for Communications Minister Helen Coonan said the amendment would address "a gap" in the present legislation.
"This is not really about censorship," he said. "We're talking about sites that are established by criminals to defraud people.
"If it's a domestic site where people are actively inciting crime or terrorism, the AFP will be investigating with a view to prosecution, and will also order its take-down.
"The blacklisting component is about overseas sites, where ISPs have no control over the content. Unless we get the co-operation of overseas police, we are unable to chase these cases. All we can do is notify them in a voluntary list for ISPs and filter providers to update."
"It would be very difficult to have the capacity to check every single link that is posted on a user's individual webpage." Internode's John Lindsay said ISPs fully supported the government's efforts to remove violence and child pornography, race hate and other objectional material from local sites, and would be happy to extend that to sites promoting terrorism.
"It's completely reasonable to require that sort of stuff to be taken down from web servers hosted and administered within Australia," he said. "That's something ISPs actually have some control over, and that has worked very well.
"But, as a technologist, I have to point out that blocking content from overseas is horrifically hard, if not impossible." In the past Australia had some capability to filter cached material, but technology had moved on, he said. "Years ago, ISPs used web caching as a way of speeding up access to foreign internet sites by holding a copy of content on their servers. That provided a nice hook for a filter list for specific URLs.
"Today ISPs don't bother caching, because there's no longer any financial incentive to do so.
"The cost of international bandwidth has dropped and the rise of Web 2.0 content - user-generated content - means that more and more of what's on the web doesn't cache. If one user looks at something, the next user will see something different.
Once you start building up enormous lists of things you want to block, the list gets endlessly larger even though the original content has gone." This would have the ultimate effect of slowing down internet performance. "You might have fast broadband, but you won't get any speed from it because there's a whole room of servers between you and the internet that are picking over everything to make sure you don't see anything objectionable," he said. "That would be a ludicrous joke.
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Labor's Internet Filtering Election Promise
Stephen Conroy
Media Release
Opposition communications spokesman
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Labor to lead on cyber-safety
Federal Labor will provide ISP (Internet Service Provider) filtering for all Australian homes, schools and public computers – under its Cyber-Safety policy announced this week.
This follows the recent high profile case of a 16 year-old student, Tom Wood who was able to bypass the Federal Government's $84 million PC filters in a mere 30 minutes.
Federal Labor supports Government initiatives to combat online threats, and believes that governments must do all they can to protect children from inappropriate material on the internet.
The Howard Government has become complacent and its Internet safety policies are inadequate.
As the online world evolves, government policy must be responsive.
Our children also need to be better equipped to deal with emerging online threats, such as cyber-bullying, invasion of privacy, and computer addiction.
Federal Labor will improve existing government programs in this area by:
Providing a mandatory 'clean feed' internet service for all homes, schools and public computers that are used by Australian children, so that ISPs will filter out content identified as prohibited by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). The ACMA 'blacklist' will also be made more comprehensive to ensure that children are protected from harmful and inappropriate online material;
Providing children with age-appropriate online cyber-safety resources and making sure teachers are skilled in cyber-safety;
Establishing a Youth Advisory Group (YAG) to ensure that the Government is kept up-to-date with issues that affect children online;
Undertaking further research into cyber-safety issues in Australia to determine where best to target future policy and funding in this area; and
Establishing a permanent Joint Parliamentary Standing Committee to investigate and report on cyber-safety in Australia.
A Rudd Labor Government will transform cyber-safety in Australia by providing Australian children, teachers and parents with a first-class cyber-safety education and by providing new forums in which cyber-safety issues will be raised and addressed.
You can view Labor's complete policy on cyber safety at www.alp.org.au
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The IIA on the new Labor Government
IIA ready for new censor battle. The Australian 11.12.07
Internet Industry Association's Peter Coroneos said the organisation would meet Labor's new Digital Economy Minister Stephen Conroy this week to brief the federal Government on mandatory ISP-level internet filtering. "It's premature to say anything more at the moment, except that there are concerns in the industry on implementing anything that could be unworkable," Mr Coroneos said.
For a decade, the IIA has been fighting legislation that would force internet companies to act as censors and filter internet content.
The industry escaped the laws in 1999 when the Howard government approved a co-regulatory scheme giving the communications watchdog power to order ISPs to take down prohibited content hosted in Australia.
Last August the coalition began supplying software to screen content as part of $190 million plan to shield children from online sex predators and pornography.
Around that time, Senator Conroy said that if elected, Labor would introduce laws requiring ISPs to provide "clean feeds".
After the election, the IIA has cranked up its anti-filter lobbying.
"This has remained a fairly controversial political issue for a long time in Australia," Mr Coroneos said.
"In some respects it's regrettable, because we think a lot of the real issues that affect child safety are not addressed by filtering, but require commitments to more fundamental issues in society.
"I think that's really where the focus needs to shift."
Dale Clapperton, chair of online civil liberties group Electronic Frontiers Australia, said that the internet filtering systems were too unreliable and gave the government too much power to control what adults could view online.
Labor has said it plans to block sites using a series of black lists.
Mr Clapperton said its policy documents indicated that internet users would be required to opt out of using the blacklists, and that it was not clear what sort of content would be included in them.
"It's not the Government's place to tell adult Australians that they aren't allowed to see or read certain content," Mr Clapperton said.
During an address at the communications conference in Sydney last week, John Lindsay of Adelaide-based ISP Internode said it was possible to use internet filtering to impose values.
"None of the filters offered explains what criteria they filter by," he said.
"I didn't see 'Judeo-Christian values' or '100 per cent Islamic', or 'evolutionist green progressive alternative'," he said.
Senator Conroy did not respond to The Australian's requests for comment.
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The ACMA's internet censorship rules
Australian Government
Australian Communications and Media Authority
ACMA media release 151/2007
21 December 2007
New rules for age-restricted internet and mobile content
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has determined new rules that for the first time implement a