Fantastic news this week! The Australian Government has finally stated it is officially abandoning its plan for mandatory ISP filtering. The policy, that was flawed from the start, and absolutely out of line especially for a so called left-wing political party, bites the dust at last.
The Government hasnt acknowledged the policy was flawed or that there were technical limitations that would have made it ineffective... but they have confirmed that they no longer intend to introduce the proposed legislation.
What they have done instead is to require ISPs to block child abuse websites based on the Interpol list of the worst sites on the internet. Sites are reviewed by the authorities in two countries before they are added to the list. It appears that around 1,400 sites are currently required to be blocked and that some Austalian ISPs were already voluntarily doing this.
What was to potentially be a broad and secretive mandatory filter has quite rightly been reduced to a targeted black list. This is great news for freedom of speech and a huge relief for many.
Further Reading
ABC News, Government abandons plans for internet filter (9 November 2012) < http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-09/government-abandons-plans-for-internet-filter/4362354 > at 10 November 2012
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