Controversial Internet Filter Proposal Could Severely Limit User Access

What some are calling the “great Aussie Firewall” may make Australia one of the strictest Internet regulators among democratic countries if the measure is approved, reports Yahoo! Tech News.

The mandatory filter would block access to some 1,300 government prohibited sites, including sites that feature or advocate drug use, terrorism, child pornography, graphically excessive violence and other controversial issues/topics. Critics insist that this measure, if approved is nothing less than censorship and that the money would be better spent on raising awareness about the prohibited topics.

“The filter may not be able to in fact protect children from the core elements of the Internet that they are actually experiencing danger in, “ Holly Doel-Mackaway, an adviser with Save The Children, one of the world’s largest child advocacy groups, told Yahoo recently.

Australian Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, who proposed the filter, told the Associated Press via email that “this is not an argument about free speech.”

“We have laws about the sort of material that is acceptable across all mediums and the Internet is no different. Currently, some material is banned and we are simply seeking to use technology to ensure those bans are working.”

This proposed filter announcement comes in the wake of a recent historic ruling by Australian officials, which allowed a lawyer to serve a lien on behalf of his client via FaceBook.