The president of the American Civil Liberties Union doesn't mince words - she says Australia's passing of new Internet censorship laws make the island continent nation the "world's Internet village idiot."
Not that Australia's Communications Minister cares what Nadine Strossen thinks. Richard Alston says Australia has its own value system and does not move in lockstep to the United States. "(We) believe promotion of 'individual freedoms' must be balanced by the wider social good," he says.
The Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Act is yet under fire, says Wired, with even elements of Australia's government calling for its repeal, while others warn of its economic costs to Australia's Internet sector. The law is due to take effect 1 January.
It would classify Web sites under a rating system similar to films. If someone happened upon a Web site they found offensive, especially one involving sex, they could complain to the Australian Broadcasting Authority. Australian Internet providers would be required legally to remove X-rated content on their servers and provide a way to block access to X-rated sites overseas, once notified by the ABA of a specific site.
Wired says "many" porn site operators in Australia think they will have little trouble staying a step or two ahead of the laws, by way of either encryption software or relocating their sites continuously. The latter, Wired says, would force the ABA to chase continuously to classify new sites and notify ISPs of their formats.
