MELBOURNE, Australia - The Australian Christian Lobby is pushing for the government Down Under to keep pursuing plans for an Interet filter.
"We support the government's stated position to require ISP's to mandatorily block "Refused Classification" (RC) content that has been identified by ACMA [Australian Communications and Media Authority] " said ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace in a press release, according to Australia's Christian Today.
But Wallace also said the ACL is not trying to ban adult-specific content altogether, though it does wish to restrict it.
"Dependent on the technical trial results," he said. "I expect the government to be aiming to achieve a filtering system, that at the optional level, filters X and R18+, and that this material only goes to people who 'opt in' for it."
The ACL remains focused on child protection and doesn't appear to be on anti-porn campaign.
"The whole purpose of the proposed filtering system is that children not be subjected to unsolicited harmful material" Wallace said in the release. "Clearly the government's policy needs to be informed by what is technically possible, but the objective of the system of filtering should not be lost in any interim solution."
Though the fate of Australia's current Web filter trial is now in question, the organization said the goal should be giving parents greater screening control.
"We would expect that the minimum interim regime is to allow parents to 'opt out' of X and R18+ as identified by ACMA, if technology is not available now for a full solution."
Last week, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, who's been spearheading the filter scheme, admitted on Australian TV that the plan is no "silver bullet."
