The Australian Government’s proposed censorship of internet usage and sites demonstrates that that we should never take the pre-election promises of our political masters seriously, particularly their assurances of providing a more open and inclusive society based on respect for the rights of individuals.
The notion of a blanket internet censorship subjectively determined by an employee or friend of government is more reflective of the burning of books and people in totalitarian regimes over the centuries than of a modern, educated democracy.
Yes, there are areas in which the young should be protected from clearly inappropriate sites, such as those that are openly pornographic. But surely is a matter for home-based or school-based computer restrictions rather than a blanket censorship. Can’t we trust parents, teachers and the like to take responsibility for what the children in their care access?
Indeed, there are many areas of the internet that are now essential for information and educative purposes, particularly in respect of the expression of opinions, literature or art. Who is going to decide the web pages that individuals can access and what criteria will be applied? Who is to determine the criteria – a Government minister or two (strongly influenced by the Christian Right), zealots and extremists, those with strong conservative views?
Indeed the introduction of Internet censorship whilst representing an intrusion on freedom of expression and the rights of individuals will not stop just there. It will extend the floodgates of censorship into other areas of technology that the authorities considered to be relevant, such as:
- censorship of all computer networks and usage;
- increased censorship, classification, import/export controls on films, magazines, books, computer games;
- censorware (filtering and blocking software);
- the introduction of rating and labelling systems designed to restrict and/or prevent access to any information the government considers to be sensitive or embarrassing;
- the V-chip and restrictions on television broadcasting;
- censorship of mail-order X-rated videos;
- the removal of “unapproved” books, poetry and art from school syllabi;
- restrictions on the use of cryptographic software for privacy purposes;
- restrictions on access to general information about drugs or weapons, regardless of the purposes of research;
The fact that a democratically-elected government should even consider Internet censorship has significant implications for the few remaining rights of the individual to freedom of association, expression and information, and the need for stronger protection of our access to these liberties.
– James Grenfell , Canberra