Australian Internet Filtering

Revision as of 17:03, 26 November 2008

About

The Government plans to impose mandatory Internet filtering at the Internet Service Provider (ISP) level. There are two lists, a 'child' safe list which filters both illegal content and hardcore pornography; a second which users can 'opt-out' to which only filters unwanted content.
Senator Stephen Conroy, the Government Senator responsible for this project has stated that they will also be looking into the possibility of filtering other content that may be illegal in Australia. Which would for example include: euthanasia, abortion, drug-use, etc.
Other political parties and members have made their intentions clear to include further content to be banned, such as overseas online gambling, and as suggested by Family First Senator Steve Fielding - hardcore pornography.
Mark Newton, a Network Engineer from ISP Internode was the victim of bullying by the Office of Stephen Conroy over his criticisms of the Government's Internet Filtering plans. Conroy's policy advisor Belinda Dennett, sent an email to the Internet Industry Association (IIA) board member Carolyn Dalton stating requesting that Mark Newton rein in his comments over the Government's proposal. This email was accompanied by a phone call demanding that the message be passed onto Senior Internode Management. Mark Newton has made it clear that his comments are his own and do not reflect the opinions of his employer.
Senator Conroy accused Senator Ludlam (Greens) of suggesting that people should have access to child pornography when questioning him at committee meeting whether users would truly be able to "opt-out" of the system. ^{1 2}
Email, Peer to Peer, Instant messaging, newsgroups and any other custom application protocols are on the ACMA report as things that the Government is also planning to apply the ISP-Level filtering to.
Conroy has answered in the Senate at Question Time that the filtering system will block access to "unwanted content". He has avoided answering any questions that Senator Ludlam has directed at him.
The filtering trial will begin at the end of 2008. iiNet and Optus have applied to participate in the ISP Level filtering trial, however have maintained they are doing so to prove the inability of the system.
10,000 websites (possibly more) would be on the blacklist of the ISP Level filtering trial scheduled for late 2008. It is unknown what is on this list of banned websites, and it is likely that they will not be released at any time in the future.

Further Information

No Clean Feed

Closed Environment Testing of ISP-Level Internet Content Filtering: Report to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. June 2008.
Developments in Internet Filtering Technologies and Other Measures for Promoting Online Safety. February 2008
EFA Timeline - Electronic Frontiers Australia
EFA Censorship Category - Electronic Frontiers Australia
Petitions to parliament drove ALP’s Internet filtering policy - Stilgherrian blog

Misleading Claims

Senator Stephen Conroy has asserted a number of times that the UK, Sweden, Canada and New Zealand have already implemented similar filtering systems with no impact to performance. Mark Newton an engineer from the ISP Internode has outlined that these claims are misleading where these countries are operating filtering systems that are contrary to Senator Conroy's claims.

In the UK the Government is excluded from online censorship by the Communications Act and British Telecom only provides a private voluntary clean feed system to their customers. In Canada eight ISPs run a voluntary parental control tool - there has been no Government intervention for the ISPs to provide this service as there is no legal obligation. A single ISP in Sweden runs an optional blacklist - this system later came under heavy controversy in regards to 'Scope Creep' by the Swedish Police threatening to add the Torrent site The Pirate Bay to the child pornography filter blacklist. New Zealand has no filtering system - an examination of the British Telecom filtering system in the UK was found to only block 10-15% of the targeted restricted material. libertus.net Whirlpool (Mark Newton)

It has also been claimed that users would be able to 'opt-out' of the filtering system when in fact two blacklists would be operating, users who choose to 'opt-out' of the filtering would be still be filtered according to a list of illegal content determined by the ACMA.

The definition of opt-out has been varied by Stephen Conroy, he has first claimed that it was not possible to opt-out of the filtering system competely, however in a recent comment by Conroy on SkyNews he mentioned that it would be possible to "opt-out" from the cleanfeed. The definition of the cleanfeed at this time possibly meaning the filter list that includes hardcore pornography.

Issues

Social

The ACMA Report in June 2008, has shown the Government's interest in applying filtering/blocking to non-web protocols. These include normally considered private/personal methods such as e-mail, instant messaging, newsgroups and other custom defined non-web protocols.
The definition of the 'unwanted content' has not yet been determined, however it has been made clear that the Government will seek to ban content that is considered illegal under Australian law. This would include content concerning euthanasia, abortion, suicide, and drugs.
In the implementation of the filtering system, it is likely that many parents would become complacent and assume that the "Internet" is then safe for their children to use without supervision which they would otherwise have maintained a careful vigilance over. eg. More parents would allow their children to use computers in their own bedrooms/personal privacy without supervision.
In the event that once the filtering system comes into place, it is highly unlikely that the filtering system would be removed from use at all. (Government admitting defeat on filtering solution).
No guarantee in future on what content would be restricted or monitored.
Through the denying of inappropriate content, information resources that allow the population to educate themselves and create their own unbiased opinions over issues such as abortion, euthanasia or anorexia would be denied.
Sufferers of particular social problems would be restricted contact with online support groups (forums, newsgroups, Instant messaging, irc chatrooms). These types of contact currently allow adults/teenagers to seek support or varying opinions from those that would normally be within their everyday real life peer groups.
It is not known what will be blocked, and currently there are no plans to define "unwanted content" or the type of content that will be blocked.

Technical

Slows the Internet. Performance degradation may be introduced by the filtering systems onto Australia's Internet infrastructure.
- Even if a user were able to opt-out completely, performance degradation (PPI in the ACMA report) is still present to an extent.
The filters are not perfect, not all of the illegal and pornographic content will be censored by the filter.
Websites which are not meant to be filtered or blocked, will be mistakenly blocked/filtered.
- An ISP may receive 100,000 webpage requests per second - under best scenario conditions would mean that 3,000 of those requests would be accidentally blocked (delta filter which however is also not appropriate for large-scale deployment - ACMA report June 2008).
Websites which are banned that share a webhost IP address with other websites will result in those other websites being blocked as well.
There are currently no filtering systems that support IPv6 - in future the planned filtering systems may be made redundant; or their performance capacities may be different to what has currently been tested so far. This was not considered the ACMA report (June 2008).
The ACMA report in June 2008, does not consider future proofing the filtering systems for modern and future Internet connection solutions. It considers 1.5Mbps as an average connection and the live trials to be held at the end of 2008 would limit users to 12Mbps. Current technologies exist for home users to access Internet connections of up to 50Mbps. ^[1]
Filters are currently not able to handle encrypted data, and other non-web protocols. However, 5 out of the 6 filters tested were able to filter HTTPS traffic potentially making all online purchases and banking insecure.

Financial

The Internet will become more expensive for the end user. Ongoing maintenance costs of the filter will be passed onto the consumer.
- Similarly services provided by businesses that utilise the Internet may also be forced to pass the additional costs onto customers or allow it to detract from their profits.
Smaller Internet Service Providers (ISPs) may not be able to afford the costs associated with the filtering. Initial setup costs and costs to provide adequate network infrastructure would be comparable to larger ISPs who are more able to provide the necessary funding.
ISPs who have already built a 'family friendly' brand around them already offering "clean feed" would be hurt by the Government's duplicitous ISP Level filtering scheme.
- The product chosen by the Government would extinguish the need for any other filtering products in the Australian market. Companies and businesses who have already spent money on providing filtering solutions for their networking uses would find their chosen product pointless and an unnecessary duplication of infrastructure.
- Would cause a monopolisation in the Australian market by a single filtering company who owns the product that the Government would select. Any additional filtering would mostly be redundant and performance restrictive.
The costs are going to be far beyond what the government has budgeted for. $189M.
In the event that a website be blocked (and subsquently added to the blacklist) accidentally, Internet oriented business stand to lose entire days of profits. The same can be said for non-Internet oriented businesses as where they are communicating and advertising to potential and existing customers.
Overseas investors are currently unsure what effect the filtering system will have on business with Australia, and what changes may take place in future.

Legal

Will hinder Police and cooperative International Police operations in the task of tracking child sexual offenders.
- Operation Auxin (2004) made use of the current ability to track a specific user's "paths" along international data networks. In terms of escalating technological efforts of both sides of the law, it will force more offenders to utilise methods (eg. encryption) which the policing bodies have no ability to monitor. Mick Keelty, AFP Commissioner has described this as a "silver lining" of the Internet in its ability to help authorities track criminals. ^{[2] [3]}
- Child sex offenders have even used their credit card details to sign up for bait and trap child pornography websites set up by policing authorities.
- However it should be noted that people who are committing crimes willingly and regularly already know what they are doing is illegal. As such they have already utilised encryption, Peer to Peer and other methods to circumvent detection. This means that ISP Level filtering will have minimal effect on most current offenders.
Illegal content is not defined uniformly between the State, Territory and Federal levels. What may be legal in one state/territory, may be banned by the filtering system.
Contents of the blacklist (inappropriate material) may be released to the public and would enable offenders access to a list of where to find illegal content (eg. Child pornography)
Would limit the content of illegal content available to Australians over the Internet. However would never stop such material from being available without being a breach of freedom of expression. (Australian Institute of Criminology)
Which party would be to blame should the occasion arise that a business or company would seek compensation for profits lost in the event that their website/IP gets added to the list and becomes inaccessible.

Action against the Government's Plans for Internet Filtering

Get in contact with your local members or Senators. (Letter, email, phone call).
Spread the word to all your friends and family. Let them know what it is about and what they can do.
Join facebook groups.
No Clean Feed
Contact local and national newspaper outlets. (eg. Herald Sun, Courier Mail, The Age, your local city newspapers, etc)
- Write Letters to the Editor
Contact television and radio productions. (eg. ABC, ACA, TT, 3AW, FoxFM, etc)
Contact businesses and companies other than those involved directly in IT. Essentially every industry utilises the Internet in some form in Australia, even farmers.
- casgeroth has written an excellent letter to contact banks/credit card companies, here.
For ideas on where to start try this thread on Whirlpool.
Sign the TakingITGlobal online petition
Sign the GetUp! online petition.

Responsible Parenting and the Internet - The Right Way

Have your child's or family's computer in a visible family space such as the living room. This way they are unlikely to go and seek out inappropriate websites while in plain view of others. (eg. Pornography) This does mean necessarily that the parents will have to actively watch them, for younger teens the chance that they may be caught would be enough of a deterrent from fear that they may get caught.
Do not leave young children unattended alone at a computer browsing the Internet.
Filtering Software such as Net Nanny will help aid in protecting younger children from accessing unwanted content such as pornography, or graphical violence.
- Many ISPs are already "family-friendly" and offer their own filtered feeds to help aid parents. Contact your ISP to find out if they support filtering or provide filtering software to install.

Facts

Discussion in Parliament

Senate Estimate Committee Hansard, Environment, Communications and the Arts 20/10/08 - Pages 73 - 79 Senator Ludlam Queries Senator Conroy regarding the Government's "Cyber safety" policy.
Senate Hansard 11/11/08 - Page 17 - Senator Ludlam questions Senator Conroy about misleading claims. Page 27 - Senator Ludlam moves to have Senator Conroys response noted and comments on his response.
OpenAustralia - Senator Conroy provides 'further information' in answer to Senator Ludlam's questions.

Media Coverage

Some duplicates exist due to the nature of the media industry.

2006

A study on server based internet filters | Performance Graphs - NetAlert - 2006
Giants say no to porn filter trial - AustralianIT - 18 Apr 2006
Australia to give away porn-filtering software - CNET - 21 June 2006
The senator, the surrogate and the new baby - The Age

2007

ISPs give cautious welcome to PM's porn crusade - Ninemsn - 10 Aug 2007
Howard's net porn crusade - The Australian - 10 Aug 2007
Australia to spend $189 million on anti-porn tech initiative - ars technica - 14 Aug 2007
Labor's plan for cyber safety | Stephen Conroy - ALP (pdf) - Election 2007
Conroy announces mandatory internet filters to protect children - ABC - 31 Dec 2007

Early 2008

Australia's plans to filter Internet under fire - The Age - 02 Jan 2008
Rudd porn filter fails: experts - AustralianIT - 03 Jan 2008
Stephen Conroy wades into child porn net flood - AustralianIT - 08 Jan 2008
Web porn software filter a dud - The Age - 17 Feb 2008
Costs threaten NetAlert - AustralianIT - 26 Feb 2008
Education 'as effective as internet filtering' - News.com.au - 26 Feb 2008
!Opinion Piece, ISP Filtering – Stuart Marburg, Managing Director, Netspace - Netspace - Feb 2008
Govt sticks to guns on internet porn filters - ABC - 06 Mar 2008
The end of the free internet? (Opinion) - ABC - 23 Apr 2008
ISPs crucial to child pornography blocks - Australian IT - 29 Jul 2008
The slippery slope towards internet censorship continues - Crikey - 21 Sep 2008

13-20 October 2008

No opt-out of filtered Internet - Computerworld The Industry Standard - 13 Oct 2008
No opt-out of filtered Internet - webwereld (Netherlands) - 14 Oct 2008
Australia To Build Great Firewall Down Under - Gizmodo (us) - 16 Oct 2008
Interview With Media Contact For Senator the Hon Stephen Conroy Regarding Australian Internet Filter - Tech Wired Australia - 17 Oct 2008
Oz watchdogs howl over 'Cyber-Safety' net filter - The Register - 17 Oct 2008
Australian Internet Filtering Plan Gets More Ridiculous - Broadband DSLReports.com - 17 Oct 2008
Australia embraces web censorship - Global Voices Advocacy - 17 Oct 2008
EFA expresses alarm at Government "Internet censorship" - iTWire - 17 Oct 2008
Nation-Wide Internet Censorship Proposed For Australia - Slashdot - 17 Oct 2008
Australia to Censor the Internet - ShortNews - 17 Oct 2008
Compulsory Internet filters might be coming to Australia - Fierce CIO - 17 Oct 2008
And the Wankley Award goes to ... Conroy's net filtering scheme - Crikey - Oct 17 2008
Australia to get mandatory internet filter - Guru3d - 18 Oct 2008
Hansard 20/10/08 Committee Transcript - Fingerpuppetmafia aph.gov.au - 20 Oct 2008

23-24 October 2008

Australian Government Censorship 'Worse Than Iran' - Slashdot - 23 Oct 2008
Australian censorship minister tries to censor critic: time to go Conroy - The Inquisitr - 23 Oct 2008
The high price of internet filtering - ABC - 24 Oct 2008
Filtering out the fury: how government tried to gag web censor critics - SMH - 24 Oct 2008
Read this while you can | Andrew Bolt blog - Herald Sun - 24 Oct 2008
Australian Govt's Plan to Censor the Internet is stricter than 'Iran' - Zero Paid
Aussie government now censors Web critics - Fudzilla - 24 Oct 2008
Govt's internet censor 'stricter than Iran' - LiveNews - 24 Oct 2008
'Appalled' opposition hits back at Conroy's Internet censorship - PC World - 24 Oct 2008
Cheap tricks not the right response on internet filtering - Crikey - 24 Oct 2008
Aussie govt: Don't criticize our (terrible) 'Net filters - ars technica - 24 Oct 2008

25-27 October 2008

Australia trials national net filters - BBC - 25 Oct 2008
Australia trials Internet filtering - what happened to person choice? - TECH.BLORGE.com 26 Oct 2008
Australian Government Ignoring Problems With Proposed Filters - Slashdot - 26 Oct 2008
Let's just file that idea away under naivety - SMH - 27 Oct 2008
Net filters may block porn and gambling sites - The Age - 27 Oct 2008
SAGE-AU defends right to criticise content filtering - IT News - 27 Oct 2008
Who censures the censor? | Simon Hackett - Business Spectator - 27 Oct 2008
Conroy filter gag sparks sysadmin rage - ZDNet Australia - 27 Oct 2008
Minister under fire: IT Professionals say net filtering won't work - ITWire - 27 Oct 2008
Stranglehold on the internet - AdelaideNow - 27 Oct 2008
Interview with ‘Bullied’ Network Engineer on Australian Gov’t Net Filters - Network Performance Blog - 27 Oct 2008
Australia readies mandatory Internet filter - The Argosy - 27 Oct 2008
Filtering out our freedom - Adelaide Now - 27 Oct 2008
Australia now wants to ban Internet porn - The Inquirer - 27 Oct 2008
Proposed Aussie Bans Generating Heat - Online-Casinos.com - 27 Oct 2008
Push to censor online gambling, porn - LiveNews - 27 Oct 2008
Australia tries to Silence Web Filter Critics - guru3d (us) - 27 Oct 2008

28 October 2008

SAGE-AU defends right to criticise content filtering - CRN Australia
Editorial | Freedom of speech depends on the right choices - The Age
Australia's Internet filter: could legal content be banned, too? - Ars Technica
Greens, independents cautious on Conroy's proposed Internet filters - CommsDay.com
New internet filter imposed on all web surfers - Courier mail
Freedom of speech depends on the right choices | Editorial - The Age
In Conroy’s muddy waters you'll never know what’s being filtered - Linux World (aus)

29 October 2008

Is internet censorship ever ok? - 7 Sunrise
Australia's compulsory internet filtering 'costly, ineffective' - News.com.au
Australia's compulsory internet filtering 'costly, ineffective' - AustralianIT
In Australia's muddy Internet waters, you don't know what's being filtered - IT World Canada
All stars - internet censorship | 7 Sunrise - 7 Sunrise (Video)
No opting out of Australian plan to censor websites - Courier Mail
Australian internet filter to be compulsory - perth now
Australia to implement mandatory internet censorship - Herald Sun
Adult Australians don't need a net nanny - Courier Mail
Tech giants join move to protect freedom of speech online - SMH
The push to gag the internet - Same Same
Senator Conroy responds to net filter fears - 7 Sunrise
Q&A: Clearswift CTO - ZDNet Australia
Here comes the filternet - MCV
Internet censorship fears - Sydney Star Observer (SSO)
3AW | Media Talk on Internet censorship | Derryn Hinch - 3AW (Windows Media Audio)
Democracy and censorship - SMH
Australia Plans to Block online casinos - Online Casino News
In Australia's muddy Internet waters, you don't know what's being filtered - ITWorld Canada
Australia Plans Internet Filters to Block Online Casinos and More - Online Casino Advisory
Australian push to block porn and gambling sites - Legalbrief Today (South Africa)
Australia readies mandatory Internet filter - The Argosy (Canada)
SAGE-AU calls for open talk on internet censorship - Electronics News
Internet filter to cause World Wide Wait for Aussies - Courier Mail
Internet censorship is draconian | Editorial - Courier Mail
Net filter an assault on freedom that just won't work - Courier Mail
The great firewall of Australia - Excalibur Web edition (Canada)
Definition for child porn needed, says Suhakam - The Star (Malaysia)
Interview with Colin Jacobs of Electronic Frontiers Australia Re: Australian Internet Filter - Tech Wired Australia
Sky News - Internet Censorship - YouTube
A Clean Feed? - AtomicMPC
Australia to implement mandatory internet censorship - Boot Daily

30 October 2008

National Firewalls A Step On Slipper Slope to Censorship - New York Times
Filter to cause World Wide Wait - Australian IT
Australia to implement mandatory internet censorship - Boot Daily
Internet Gambling May be Censored in Australia - Poker News Daily
Internet screening move hits hurdle - The Age The Age (tech) WA Today SMH Brisbane Times
Jonathan Kay: When did the Australians become such weenies? - National Post (Canada)
The perplexing Internet debate | Mark Newton - ON LINE opinion
The Great Firewall of Thailand - CNET Asia
Speeches wiped off ALP website - News.com.au
The Great Firewall of Australia | Stephen Conroy - ABC mediareport (Audio/Transcript)
Surmounting the Great Firewall of Australia - PC World
Clean Feed 'not technically possible' - Techworld
Suhakam Urges Government To Enact Laws To Protect Children From Porn - Bernama.com (Malaysia)
ISP-level content filtering won't work | Simon Hackett (Internode), Justin Milne (Telstra), Michael Malone (iiNet) - ZDNet Australia (YouTube Video ONLY)
Nationwide Firewall in Australia Slows Speeds and Free Speech - atelier-us.com(us)
Kevin Libin: Canada's approach to web censorship -- first let the flowers grow, then lop them off - National Post (canada)
Our new net nanny nation - The Chronicle
Going Offshore? Watch Out for Australia, Too. - Domain Name Wire (us)
The truth behind our online fears - Globe and Mail | technology

31 October 2008

Clean Feeds | Mark Pesce - ABC
Protest logged on internet filter for illegal sites - Courier Mail
Australia's Big Brother internet filtering - it's time to speak out - SMH Blog
Support fades for Australian net censorship - vnunet.com (uk)
Australia to Implement Mandatory Internet Censorship - Natural News
Comments, corrections, clarifications, and c*ckups - Crikey
Strewth! Will stickybeak Oz pollies come a gutzer over shonky web censorship plan? - TelecomTV (uk)
Web filter 'needed' to protect kids from porn - Courier Mail
Aussies internet screening hitting brick wall - The Inquirer (uk)
Internet Filtering | ABC hack - ABC Hack (wm)(temp)
Proposed Australian Law Causes Uproar - Web Host Industry News (canada)
Aussie Gov't Says 'Yes, Way!' to 'Net Censorship - Marketing Vox (us)

01 Movember 2008

Australia's ISPs Speak Out Against Filtering - Slashdot
INTERNET CENSORSHIP: Australia to implement mandatory internet censorship - Global Research (canada)

02 November 2008

Net censorship a danger sign - Herald Sun
News week in review: hacking the vote, filtering the 'Net, dropping the F-bomb, and Windows 7 - ars technica (us)
Principles of the Internet giants - Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)

03 November 2008

How to easily bypass Australia's internet filters for free - SMH (Sydney Morning Herald)
Bypass Australia's internet filters for free - iTWire
This post contains inappropriate content – you’ve been warned. - PC World
Comments, corrections, clarifications, and c*ckups - Crikey
Hands off the Internet - Computer World
You Have Every Right To Be Angry: The Government Wants To Kill The Internet - Gizmodo
Support fades for Australian net censorship - CRN Australia
Internet filtering vendors in dash for Australian ISP cash - TelecomTV
Australian Web Crawl - Reason.com Hit & Run
Support fades for Australian net censorship - PC Authority
Hands off the Internet - ARN
This post contains inappropriate content – you’ve been warned. - PC World
Australian Internet filters have backdoor - PC Authority

04 November 2008

Online filtering recognises families' concerns - ABC ^{Anh Nguyen}
Top 5 reasons to fight government ISP filtering - APC Mag
We don't want Stephen Conroy in our bedrooms - Courier Mail
Comments, corrections, clarifications, and c*ckup - Crikey
Why Clean Feed Internet Plans Are Wrong - Lifehacker
America turns left - Examiner.com National ^{Australia's Internet filtering is cited.}
Colin Jacobs: Filtering at Odds with Broadband Revolution - GetUp
Rethink needed on web censorship - Border Watch
Online filtering recognises families' concerns - ABC
NannyNet Down Under - Wall Street Journal

05 November 2008

ISPs say they will suffer from filtering - WA Business News
Comments, corrections, clarifications, and c*ckups - Crikey
Is the Internet going down down under? - The Register
Say goodbye to online porn - Sydney Star Observer
Caught in the Web: The internet is giving China's citizens a tool with which to outwit the state Time Online (uk)
The dangers of Internet censorship - Boston Globe
Australian Censorship Bypassed Before Live Trials - Slashdot

06 November 2008

Say G'day to Fake Steve Conroy - APC Magazine
Internet censorship effort raises big questions - Network World
How Obama wants tech to save the world - APC
NANNYNET DOWN UNDER - National Center for Policy Analysis
No Great Firewall seen for New Zealand - Computer World (NZ)
Comments, corrections, clarifications, and c*ckups - Crikey

08 November 2008

Government uploads hypocrisy with internet censorship - The Age

10 November 2008

Filter plans a step too far: NetRegistry ZDNet
Duplicate content filter will hurt family-friendly ISPs - iTnews
Filter advocates need to check their facts - ABC
Internet filtering? Just say no - iTWire
Duplicate content filter will hurt family-friendly ISPs - CRN
The Great Firewall Down Under - Jolt Digest: An online companion to the Harvard Journal of Law & Technology - Harvard University (us)

11 November 2008

Opposition rises to internet filter - The Age Brisbane Times
Canberra calls net filter trial - The Australian
Too many unanswered questions on net censorship: Greens - Greens|Scott Ludlam
Net censorship plan backlash - Sydney Morning Herald
Internet censorship pilot to go ahead - Whirlpool
Govt urged to provide internet filtering details - ABC
Conroy seeks ISPs for filter trial - The Age
Conroy calls for filter pilot volunteers - ZDNet
Senator Ludlam questions Senator Conroy in the Senate over ISP Level Internet Filtering - Youtube
Follow Up Interview With Mark Newton of Internode Re: Australian Internet Filter - Tech Wired Australia
Largest Aussie ISP Agrees to "Ridiculous" Net-Filter Trial Slashdot
Australian ISPs pan government-mandated 'Net filtering plan - ars technica

12 November 2008

Conroy coy on filtered web content - The Australian IT
Video: Conroy defends Internet filter - ZDNet
Greens accuse Conroy of fudging facts over content filter trials - ComputerWorld
Australian government calls for live Internet filter trial - iTWire
Australian ISPs pan government-mandated 'Net filtering plan - ars technica
Australian ISP Agrees to 'Ridiculous' net-filter trial to prove 'How Stupid It is' - ZeroPaid (us)
Aussie ISPs step up campaign against net censorship - Fudzilla
Say goodbye to gaydar - MCV
Internet filter to block 10,000-plus "unwanted" sites - Courier Mail
ISP boss pledges to undermine Great Aussie Firewall: Stupid plan is stupid - The Register (uk)
The Internet Is Fighting Back - Same Same
AUSTRALIAN MINISTER ASKS ISPS TO GET INVOLVED IN NET NANNY PJT - TCM Net (us)

13 November 2008

Government Filtering Plans Under Attack - idm.net.au
Rudd Government's internet filter to block up to 10,000 'unwanted' sites - news.com.au Herald Sun Perth Now Courier Mail
Govt to block 10,000 websites - Streem
Optus, iiNet put filters to the test - Computerworld
Australian net filter to block 10,000 websites - LiveNews
Senator Conroy expands reach of net filters to "unwanted content" - iTNews
Internet filter claims unjustified - Sky News
Spoonman - Should the Government be able to censor the internet? - Triple M - Podcast
Government's online censorship plan raises ire - inthemix.com.au
Thought Police - Courier Mail (Viewpoint)
Optus, iiNet put filters to the test - ARN
Swearing (TV) ? Blocking 10000 websites ? - Seven Sunrise (youtube) _{Towards the end}
Thursday All Stars on Internet Censorship - Seven Sunrise (youtube)
Conroy fails to answer Green's NBN Questions - Sky News (youtube)

14 November 2008

Australian Web Filter to block more than 10,000 'unwanted' sites - Zero Paid
Video: Today Show, 'Firewalls Under Fire' (Interview with Mark Newton) - ninemsn Video
Thought Police - Courier Mail
No Mail Please, We’re The Government! [Australian Internet Filtering] - Tech Wired Australia
Filtering the Bible | Jack Marx - News.com.au|Blogs
Triple M | Spoonman - Internet censorship - Triple M (podcast) (MP3)
SMB bug gets seven-year itch - Builder AU _{Mentioned midway}
Internet filtering could cause business chaos - SmartCompany
Government uploads hypocrisy with internet censorship - ON LINE opinion
Senator Conroy expands reach of net filters to "unwanted content" - CRN Australia
Australia planning to block 10,000 websites - Telegraph (UK)
Australische Regierung will Internetfilter mit einer Blacklist von 10000 URLs testen - Heise (Germany)
Australia Plans To Block 10,000 Websites - All Headline News (USA)
ABC Radio | Friday Nightlife - Internet Filtering - (MP3)
Australia ISPs Call Net Filtering Plan 'Ridiculous' - Broadband DSLreport.com (USA)

15 November 2008

Censorship, Ratings and the state of the industry. - PAL Gaming Network
Aussies to Block 10,000 Websites - The Jawa Report (us)
Australia planning to block 10,000 websites - Global Research (canada)

16 November 2008

Sex flirts with politics - Herald Sun
The Stasi down under – Oz democracy at risk with information restrictions - Cleaves newswire

17 November 2008

Winning the war against Internet censorship - ONLINE opinion
Toowoomba shopping centre bans Dr Philip Nitschke - The Chronicle _{related by the current climate of censorship in the Australian community}
Why have kids if you don't look after them? - The Age
Book burning in the digital age - The Australian

18 November 2008

Government internet filters are 'stone age' - Coffs Coast Advocate
Why internet filtering is bad for business - Smart Company
New task force to examine ISP level content filtering - iTNews
Your Turn: Censor this! - The Age
Your Turn: Nanny state - The Age
ACS creates task force, UNSW to hold forum on Internet filtering - ARN
Easing private pain - Sydney Morning Herald
Bishop's hidden homily - The Australian
Australia’s newest political force: The S-x Party - All News Web
ISP Filtering - Radio National
Government reinforces online censorship in name of protecting king’s reputation - Reporters Without Borders (Thailand)

19 November 2008

OpenNet Initiative: Australia’s content filtering “frightening” - ARN
ISPs think Conroy is incompetent on Internet filtering: iiNet boss - iTWire
Fireside chats in the 21st century - ABC _{Towards bottom}
Australian S-x Party going down under - Independent Political Report
Reverse censorship psychology Aussie style - The Inquisitr
Iran cracks down on internet - Sky News_{article shows real world example of the slippery slope of censorship}

20 November 2008

Fears over Australia's £55m plan to censor the net - Guardian.co.uk
Australia's bizarre censorship laws - All News Web
Conroy's Web - newmatilda.com
Oz s-x trade to spank parliamentary prudes - The Register (uk)
ZDNet.com.au readers slam content filtering - ZDNet
Australia brings new net censorship - Digitaltrends (USA)
Aussie Movie & TV Industry sues ISP for allowing piracy - ZeroPaid_{cites internet filtering}

21 November 2008

Black, greylists wrong approach to net filtering: Analyst - ARN
Internet censorship. Nice idea, just not practical. - Crikey _{Requires subscription, trial available}
Movie studios Suing iiNet For Not Stopping Pirates - Gizmodo Australia
Australian Sex Party tells politicians what it wants - Independent Political Report
NSW calls Conroy on Euro filter fudge - ZDNet
E – BRIEF - Internet Censorship and Mandatory Filtering - NSW Parliamentary Library Research Service (pdf)
COMMENT: Why I want an NBN - Comms Day
Black, greylists wrong approach to net filtering: Analyst - PC World
Inaction on disconncet please at root of Aussie ISP lawsuit - Ars Technica
Rudd will need a stiff upper lip - Perth now
Cleaning out the net - The Mercury

22 November 2008

Sex Party sends invites to Australians - balita-dot-ph (philippines)
Aussie Sex Party reaches over 1,000 members - Livenews
Is it fair to blame the messenger - Business 24/7 (UAE)

23 November 2008

Too many holes in Rudd Government internet filter - Daily Telegraph

24 November 2008

Clive Hamilton the Net Nanny - ON LINE opinion
Australia Mandatory ISP Level (Internet) Filtering - ABC 7.30 Report (youtube) (transcript)
UQ Business School IT Manager comments on internet filtering - UQ News

25 November 2008

Greens could block plans for internet filter - News.com.au
Greens won't back federal plans for internet filters - The Australian
Threats to net add up - Calgary Herald (canada) _{Bottom of first page}
Broadband network has narrow view - Bendigo Advertiser
Minchin slams Labor's NBN backflip - ZDNet _{MILIF at bottom}
Labor's arbitrary internet filter plan misguided and deeply unpopular - Liberal Party Website
A toast to a fascinating year on the tech front - Inside Toronto (canada) _{Third last paragraph.}
Greens won't back gov't plans for internet filters - The Age

26 November 2008

Government's filtering plans - Breakfast News - ABC (video)

Opinion

Blogs

Senator Kate Lundy | Internet content Parent Education is the key - Kate Lundy blog - 19 March 2003
No sex please, we're Labor - Full Duplex ZDNet - 17 Jan 08
Australia's Clean Feed Broken | Posters - Off Topic with Ashley
More developments on internet filtering: the religious connection | Evolving Thoughts: John S. Wilkins - Evolving Thoughts
Australia going to mandatory filtering - Filtering Facts - 14 Oct 2008
Australia's Great Firewall: just like China, Syria and other "free" countries - Boingboing.net - 15 Oct 2008
Australia to begin filtering internet - the amateur scientist - 17 Oct 2008
Australian Activists Fight Filtering Methods - OpenNet - 28 Oct 2008
How to be Senator Conroy | Fingerpuppetmafia.com - Fingerpuppetmafia.com 1 2 - 23 Oct 2008
Can Labor implement 'clean feed' without legislation? - Defending Scoundrels (Dale Clapperton)
Stop Australian Internet Censorship - Stop Australian Internet Censorship
Australian Women Online on ISP Filtering | Danielle Hutchinson - Australian Women Online - 30 October 2008
Defeating Australia’s Internet Censorship Plans - Strange Times Lastsuperpower blog
The Censored Old Land of Oz - The LRC Blog | LewRockwell.com (us)
Anti Filter - Anti Filter Blog
ISP censorship - Hitler video - overstream
Australian Web Crawl - Reason online
Australia's net filter creeping closer - Gamespace
Australian Internet filters have backdoor - PC Authority - 03 Nov 2008
Australia looking to become internet censor (just like China) - CrunchGear
Australian Women's Online's 'wholehearted' support of Stephen Conroy - North Coast Voices
Australia: First Western Nation to censor the Internet? - Austrolabe
Filtered freedom - Worldmag Blog
The Great Firewall Down Under - Jolt Digest
Say goodbye to freedom on the internet - was nice while it lasted - coffee.geek.nz (Australian filtering mentioned at bottom of post)
More bad news for Scunthorpe - Dan's Data
The internet filter we still have to have - Courier Mail
Government censored internet - the great firewall of Australia? - Sydney Anglicans
Chairman Rudd - Chairmanrudd.com
Winning the war against Internet censorship - On Line Opinion
Aussie prudes - Pharyngula
Government encourages critical thinking? Then why a clean feed? - All teachers are learners - All learners are teachers

Groups

Whirlpool - Whirlpool Forum Discussion Threads: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Mark Newton | Senator Kate Ellis MN 2

Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) - EFA
SAGE-AU - SAGE-AU
No Clean Feed - No Clean Feed
Somebody Think of the Children - Somebody Think of the Children
Facebook group | Australian ISP filtering is stupid - facebook
Leave The Net Alone - Leave The Net Alone
Electronic Freedom Project - Wiki Forums
Members of the Senate Scorecard - Score Card - EFP
Ausrage IRC - #ausrage on irc.rizon.net
Stop The Clean Feed - Stop The Clean Feed
No Censorship - No Censorship
Child Wise - Child Wise _{note: Many 'facts' presented in this article are incomplete and are missing key vital parts to them and do not completely represent the information covered.}

YouTube Videos

Comics

Mention Worthy Quotes

There have been so many relevant quotes that they decided to stop free loading and got their own place.

Australian Internet Filtering(Quotes)

Terminology

Cleanfeed: The term referring to the content that has been fed through an Internet filtering system after it has filtered or blocked content that exists on one of the two blacklists.
ISP: Internet Service Provider
Key word filtering -
Latency: The delay (time) for a packet of data to move across a network connection between one point and another.

People

Anh Nguyen: 2006 Victorian Election candidate for Family First.
Mark Newton: A network engineer with ISP Internode. He was the victim of the attempts by Senator Conroy's office to silence his criticisms over the Government's ISP Level filtering plan.
Senator Stephen Conroy: Australian Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.

Other

Australian Internet Filtering(Newspaper Scorecard)

@@ Line 85: / Line 85: @@
 *For ideas on where to start try this [http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1082048 thread] on Whirlpool.
 *Sign the TakingITGlobal online [http://petitions.takingitglobal.org/oznetcensorship petition]
+*<em>Sign the [http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/SaveTheNet/442 GetUp! online petition.]</em>
 ==Responsible Parenting and the Internet - The Right Way==