Conroy denies filter circumvention offence planned

The office of Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has acknowledged the existence of a protected online forum used to discuss controversial issues about the internet filter, but has appeared to reject forum suggestions from departmental officials that the Government could make it an offence to promote methods of circumventing the filter.

The site is being hosted internally by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE). In screenshots sighted by Delimiter today, ISPs such as Pacific Internet and Webshield - which will be required to implement the scheme if it goes ahead - discuss the filter with un-named departmental officials.

Delimiter Article:

It wont be made an offence to circumvent a filter. Come on. Who could believe this? Either they just will later when it makes no difference or there's already a law on the books that they'll be able to use to prosecute... something about "using a carriage service" or something obscure.

Crackdown on Internet racism ill-thought out

EFA commentary:

If you're a politician, and something nasty is brought to your attention, what do you do? The best and sometimes only tool in your toolbox is the one you reach for. The tool is this: to pass a law banning it. Therefore, although it's always discouraging, a story like this one, is far from unusual or surprising. "Laws to tackle racism on the Internet are set to be beefed up," it announces.

"Authorities warn they are often powerless to act against online content, which is responsible for almost one in five racial vilification complaints," it continues, then:

Attorney-General Robert McClelland has ordered the Australian Human Rights Commission to conduct a sweeping review of "arrangements for dealing with racist material on the internet".
"While freedom of expression is one of the most fundamental rights, this is not at the expense of the rights of people, while using the Internet, to be treated with equality, dignity and respect," Mr McClelland told The Sunday Age.
Certainly, nobody likes hate speech. But these words, by our Attorney-General, are concerning. Firstly, they show a terrible lack of consideration of the complexities of the issue, and secondly, they demote freedom of speech in a significant way.