The Australian Government is about to censor your access to the internet: they will decide what you will be allowed to see and read, hear and view. The censorship will ban websites ‘they’ don’t want you to know about.
CLA is forming ‘Action Cells’ around Australia to fight this outrageous government intrusion into our freedoms. Send an email to: secretary@cla.asn.au including the city/town you are from to join an email group operating in your local area.
Wowser government censors your internet
The Australian Government is about to censor your access to the internet: they will decide what you will be allowed to see and read, hear and view.
The censorship will ban websites ‘they’ don’t want you to know about, maybe euthanasia, anorexia, drugs, guns, alternative religions and…democracy obviously.
Digital Minister Stephen Conroy told a Senates Estimates Committee late in October that the government’s $44.2 million internet censorship plan would include two tiers:
- one level of mandatory filtering for all Australians, and
- an optional level that will provide a “clean feed”, censoring adult material.
“Australia’s level of net censorship will put it in the same league as countries including China, Cuba, Iran and North Korea, and the government will not let users opt out of the proposed national internet filter when it is introduced,” News Limited technology correspondent Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson reported.
The Minister’s mandatory censorship breaks a promise, CLA President Dr Kristine Klugman said. “The Labor Party promised an opt-in system where parents could choose to censor childrens’ access. This is broad-brush, nationwide, mandatory censoring of every Australians’ access to information. It’s like the government deciding which bookshop you’re allowed to go into, and which book you’re permitted to pick up.
“This wowser government appears intent on creating a dumbed-down society. The move will lead to the antithesis of the Clever Country. Quite apart from taking away freedoms, it will slow the internet down dramatically and actively promote lack of inquiry.”
A telling comment was posted on a blog:
“In round numbers I believe there are something like 30-40 billion web pages out there. Around 40 million new ones get created every single day. Google doesn’t even try to index all of them, let alone categorize and censor them.
“People who think this is practical or realistic just have no idea what they are talking about. It reeks of a political stunt designed to appease uninformed lobby groups. I wish they would spend the time and money on a strategy that actually helps me protect and educate my kids.” http://pastie.org/302912
You can take action: CLA is forming ‘Action Email Cells’ around Australia to fight this outrageous government intrusion into our freedoms. Send an email to: secretary@cla.asn.au including which city/town you are from to join an action email group operating in your local area. You can also join CLA if you wish: by clicking here » …