Before the 2007 federal election, Kevin Rudd and Stephen Conroy promised – in writing – to protect Australian children under their ‘cyber-safety’ plan. But now, after a year in government, they have squelched the democratic process with a proposal – not announced before the election – to impose mandatory internet filtering on adult Australians.
Labor reneges on promise
Mandatory ISP censorship extends beyond ‘children’
Labor promised, before the 2007 election, to introduce mandatory internet filtering of the internet for CHILDREN.
But in 2009, the Labor Government plans to introduce mandatory internet filtering for children AND ALL ADULT AUSTRALIANS…which is entirely different from what Prime Minister Rudd and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy promised.
The entire focus of the Labor Party’s ‘cyber-safety’ statement before the election was on children. Here is what the Conroy/Labor policy announcement said, five days before the November 2007 election:
Labor’s Plan for Cyber-safety
Stephen Conroy
Deputy Opposition Leader in the Senate, Shadow Minister for Communications and Information Technology
ELECTION 2007
Overview
Cyber-safety skills are a vital tool for all Australian children.
Children today are ‘digital natives’. They have grown up with computers and the internet and they spend a good deal of time online while at school and at home.
That is why Labor will:
• Provide a mandatory ‘clean feed’ internet service for all homes, schools and public computers that are used by Australian children. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will filter out content that is identified as prohibited by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). The ACMA ‘blacklist’ will be made more comprehensive to ensure that children are protected from harmful and inappropriate online material.
And later, in the same document…
Labor’s Fresh ideas for Cyber-safety
Labor is committed to protecting Australian children online.
Mandatory ISP Filtering
A Rudd Labor Government will require ISPs to offer a ‘clean feed’ internet service to all homes, schools and public internet points accessible by children, such as public libraries.
Labor’s ISP policy will prevent Australian children from accessing any content that has been identified as prohibited by ACMA, including sites such as those containing child pornography and X-rated material.
Labor will also ensure that the ACMA black list is more comprehensive. It will do so, for example, by liaising with international agencies such as Interpol, Europol, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre and ISPs to ensure that adequate online protection is provided to Australian children and families.
– Election 07 Fact Sheet Labor’s Plan for Cyber-safety
(underlining added)
Clearly, in plain English, the policy document says that mandatory filtering would apply only to computers and places “accessible by children”. The entire focus of the policy is on “children” and “Australian children”.
So that, in a household of two 65-year-olds, or in a shared flat with two 20-year-olds and a 22-year-old, mandatory filtering would not apply, under the above Labor policy.
However, PM Rudd and Minister Conroy are now planning to impose mandatory internet filtering on “all ISP customers”. That new policy amounts to mandatory internet censorship on adult Australians. Mandatory censorship of Australians’ access to the internet was NOT part of the Labor Party’s pre-2007 election platform.
That is why Civil Liberties Australia and others are criticising Rudd and Conroy for a policy switch. The plain, simple, English language reading of the above Labor policy is crystal clear: Labor’s ‘Election 2007 Cyber-safety” policy applies to children only.
Only when it refers to the ACMA – blacklist – policy does it mention ‘families’ (but even that usage leaves out singles living by themselves, or childless pairings, or empty-nesters).
The devious switch of policy by Labor appears to have happened when they suddenly found in government that it was a virtual technical impossibility to do what they had promised, filter the internet for children only. Hence, the sneaked-in, secret policy switch to impose the mandatory internet filtering on ALL Australians, not just children.
No, Mr Rudd and Mr Conroy, promising one thing and doing another is not how to run the country, or the nation’s internet. Do what you promised to do – safeguard children – we’ll support you on that. Leave adults’ internet access alone.
Don’t squelch democracy.
– Bill Rowlings, CEO, Civil Liberties Australia