Saliya's Diatribe
Note: This article is ENDORSED by Highlands Internet.

Internet Censorship needs to be nipped in the bud NOW.
Your thoughts are controlled in every other form of media,
radio, TV, print - you name it, and _someone_ ultimately
has the power to tell you what to think.

Fortunately for the Internet world (to date) there are 
no media magnates here. Everyone has an equal say, and
everyone has the freedom to express what they want to say
in the form that they want to say it. You don't have to 
be a billionaire to have your voice heard :)

Senator Richard Alston has introduced legislation that will change all this.
Interestingly, Sen. Alston claims to be 'Protecting the Children' -
an admirable cause. However, let me show you why this claim is false.

You can read about the legislation here. The FUNDAMENTAL points of this 180k document are:

ISPs will not permit access to material that is rated 
(or would be rated) RC or X.
ISPs will not assign Internet accounts to those under 18

So what's wrong with that ? I don't want to see RC or X material
and I don't want my KIDS to see it !!!
Let's address these issues separately.

ISPs will not permit access to material that is rated 
(or would be rated) RC or X.
The Problem - Technical reasons
Technically speaking, the problem is that this is 
fundamentally impossible for ISPs to do.
Why ? Simple.

The proposed mechanism for implementing this 'access control'
is that ALL INTERNET USERS operate by proxy service - and that
the ABA has a list of 'sites' that will be 'blocked' by all 
legitimate ISPs. Unfortunately for Australia, this ONLY works
for WWW access. 

Any other communication method that allows you to communicate 
DIRECTLY to another user cannot be controlled and will therefore
have to be suspended. That's because the ISP is responsible
for access control - and there's a $27500/day fine for NOT complying.
No more email/irc/chat/news/games that allow direct interaction. 
 
Since SO MANY people use the Internet for email communication, 
this is going to stifle Internet use in Australia. Without
these fundamental services, and with such restricted access
to the services that we CAN allow, the Internet in Australia
will basically die.

The GOOD news is that with so little communication going on, 
the Ministerial position will likely become just 'Arts' :)

And for the reduced level of 'monitored' service that you WILL
have access to, you have this to look forward to:

1) Increased costs
2) Lower speeds
3) Reduced access to legitimate content
4) Arbitrary decisions on what YOU see

A CSIRO report that was commissioned by the Govt. said fundamentally
the same thing (you can read a text version here).
Interestingly, Sen. Alston has COMPLETELY IGNORED this report
as is plain by his tabling of this legislative proposal.

The Problem - Non-technical reasons
Non-technically speaking, there are still reasons
why this legislation MUST NOT be enacted.

1) Freedom of speech
2) Right to privacy

are the two main ones I guess. The USA has the 'First Amendment'
- Australia DOESN'T - but that doesn't mean you need to lie 
down and roll over. Check out the other links on the main page
for more info.

ISPs will not assign Internet accounts to those under 18
We have NO PROBLEM with restricting
Internet account holders to those that are over 18 - 
in fact, many ISPs do this already.

(Incidentally, this goes against the wishes of just about every anti-censorship
and pro-rights activist in the Internet world. Just so you know.
But Highlands Internet doesn't see this as being a major problem.)

HOWEVER:

This condition ALONE would have the effect of achieving the 
Senator's claimed aim (protect the children from nasty content).

So the question must be asked:
 What is the real purpose of this legislation?
i.e. Why are all those other conditions there ?

We don't want to suggest that the Govt. is frightened by what 
YOU or I might read or say on the Internet.
We don't want to suggest that the Govt. doesn't really consider
YOUR fundamental rights to be important.
We don't want to suggest that the Govt. has another agenda here,
that has absolutely NOTHING to do with protecting children from nasty content.

- you can draw your own conclusions from:

1) The Letter that the Senator's office spammed us all with.
2) The Stated Aims of the Senator, and
3) The Actual Legislation (Real Aims:) of the Senator
4) A letter by Michael Sims that explores censorship reasons.

We DO want to save the Australian Internet, by encouraging
our MPs to REJECT the censorship legislation that has recently been
tabled by Sen. Richard Alston. The ONLY way this is going
to happen is with your support. So get out there and DO
something! We've tried to make it easier for you by 
providing links to some relevant people - go 
back a page and click on the links to begin.

Back to the Anti-Censorship page

Regards,

Saliya