The Clean Feed under the microscope

An industry veteran takes a look at Stephen Conroy's Internet Filtering scheme, and its impact on secure online transactions.

Ah, the Clean Feed.

Few things have generated as much discussion and, well, bile, as Stephen Conroy's pet project to put blinkers on Australian internet access and censor our browsing habits. It's caused a mess of strum and drang in our forums, and now, one industry veteran has had a long

hard look at the scheme and put together a rather in depth discussion paper and report.

Link:

Why Conroy loves porn

Every time anti-filtering campaigners mention porn, they play right into Senator Conroy's hands.

Conroy obviously doesn't care what the online community thinks of his mandatory filtering plans. He will only change his mind about filtering if mainstream Australia turns against him, and that's never going to happen while the debate remains focused on porn.

SMH Link:

"Islam and deception" - I hope these people are wrong but I worry that they are not.

This the reality of islam. Radical muslims ambition which is islam world domination. Muslims deception, if they say peace, do they really mean peace? kuffar)non-muslim is like a cow. You can sell them or kill them just like that. The main roots of this is the koran and the hadith.

Internet Censorship Alert Alex Jones exposes agenda to blacklist dissenting sites

The Western world, from Australia to the United States, UK and parts of Europe, are moving in a unified front toward dictatorial Internet censorship. Australia has led the way, despite outcry from its populace, by "filtering" out certain banned content. In the United States, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, in continuing his family's tradition of oppressing free humanity, has pushed forward Cybersecurity legislation that has already passed the House. He has done so in the name of warding off ghastly cyber "attackers" conceivably fronting for al Qaeda while ushering in a means to restrict free speech and expression online for the general population.

This guy says this is global... but he could be subscribing to the 'vast-government-conspiracy' model... maybe.

Parental call for concert classification after racy Lady Gaga concert

BLOOD, sex, gore, eating disorders and so much more - all in a day's work for singer Lady Gaga.

But when her Australian tour kicked off this week, using elements of bulimia, binge drinking and expletives as props, the chaperoning parents in the audience were not dancing to the same beat as other fans.

They are asking why no Australian concert is obliged to carry a classification to warn them, say, that a woman in a G-string might ask a kid to "get their c--- out"?

Link: News.com.au

The net filter isn't even in yet and already the slippery slope-isms have started.
When the government says it will take over parenting for parents this is they reaction they should expect. What on earth made this parent think that a rock concert was going to be child friendly?

Court Slaps Prosecutor Who Threatened Child-Porn Charges Over 'Sexting'

A Pennsylvania appellate court upheld a preliminary injunction on Wednesday barring local prosecutors from filing felony child-porn charges against a teenage girl who took a partially nude photo of herself with her cellphone.

The court said prosecutors were using the threat of charges as retaliation against the teen for exercising her constitutional right to refuse a voluntary reeducation program favored by the district attorney. The court also determined it was likely the girl and her parents will succeed in a civil rights lawsuit they've filed against the district attorney's office.

Link: Wired

The ridiculous idea that a 16 year old is making child porn if they take a picture of themselves naked. If they remember what they look like naked have they committed a child porn thought crime?

Fortunately some parents have said that enough is enough and are taking this nonsense to the next legal level. I hope they are awarded millions in damages when this is all said and done. That will teach the government to stay out of the bedrooms of teenagers.

No Australian Internet Censorship - Facebook Group

In 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Article 19 affirms the right to free speech:

"Article 19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

Receive information through any media....

(note: whilst this is a UN article it was never ratified into the Australian constitution)

Censorship of any kind is a slipperly slope. Rudd has proposed blanket filters on all Australian ISP which Australian citizens will apparently be allowed to 'opt out' from. These filters are intended to stop children accessing to child porn and other such disturbing material.

Link: Facebook.

44000 members and counting!

Wander on over, join, comment, contribute and learn what the government is up to with their filter idea.

Preschool with Playboy: TV show boob

Young viewers of children's television programs in North Carolina got a glimpse of something far more risque than their favourite cartoons, when a cable glitch broadcast two hours of the Playboy channel.

Link:

So, this is the test, have all of these children been mentally damaged? This is the fun police's chance to prove their 'porn hurts everyone' model.

[Government] Internet: ignorance is the real threat

If you've spent any significant time following the Open Internet campaign, you'll see that Rudd's censorship proposal isn't the only internet issue that gives the community cause to take umbrage.

Link: ABC.net.au

Iran's firewalls tightened ahead of election

As Iranians head to the polls, the existing government has tightened its grip on the internet and even turned its firewall against politicians close to the current rulers, say researchers who have detected a shift in the kind of sites blocked over the last two weeks. But a total shut down of the web on election day - rumoured last week - has so far failed to materialise.

Link:

An old article but a frightening vision of what a government can do to consolidate its power with a secret net filter.

Today's class: surviving the internet

Queensland teachers have been urged to play a stronger role in preventing the shocking vandalism of tribute Facebook pages.

Link BNE Times:

Shocking? Really? That is one easily shocked person. Anyway, here's my comment that wont get published:

Mr Robertson points out the need to "emplace" (is that like installing but somehow involving a horse and buggy... or an army unit... ??) filtering software. The lesson for the kids will be how easy it is to google the work around. Or how much easier it is to use your smart phone than the school computers.

We can't make the world this innocent Nirvana that it has never been. This unachievable goal is dangled in front of us and we jump for it every time. We can prepare kids for the real world though. Look at the wonderful 11 year old who just went and told her mum when a 27 year old said something icky. This is parent of the year material. The daughter got out of her depth and was able to trust her mum to help and teach, not judge and punish.

Our Teachers are supposed to know all of this computer stuff on top of their specialty subjects and their teaching skills? Really? With no extra pay or training. They're all supposed to become net experts too. Come on people. If you don't know how to do it, how can they know? If you don't know how to use a computer, why did you buy one?

This facebook thing must be great for politicians, who always want a break from public scrutiny, and pulp current affair shows but it breaks the first rule of web: Don't feed the trolls! Especially, don't feed them paper and ink.

Man accused of grooming girl, 11, for sex on Facebook

The 27-year-old man from Bidwill in Sydney's west allegedly became friends with the girl through the social networking website on March 7, police said.

Police said they exchanged messages before he arranged to meet the girl for sex.

The girl told her mother, who reported the man to police.

Link SMH:

This is how the net is policed. Conroy's filter isn't gonna stop something like this from happening unless facebook is blocked... and that'd cause a general strike. If people can't get to their Farmville crops there'll be rioting in the streets.

The girl's parents were brilliant and are to be commended. Instead of waiting for the government to Superman by and save us all her parents gave her a rough idea of what would be bad and were open to being told that something was going on.

She got a little out of her depth and knew that her parents were gonna help her, not get all hysterical and go biblical on her. That's parenting. That's the responsibility that you've given birth to. Suck it up!

Users to blame for Facebook vandalism: net industry

The shocking vandalism of tribute Facebook pages for slain Australian children could have been avoided if only users, not Facebook, put more effort into policing the site, the internet industry says.

But a former director of safety at MySpace Australia says the industry should be focused on improving content moderation processes rather than blaming users.

Link:

See. The web governs itself. If the people who put the page up took responsibility for what they had done we would have had a little less trouble.

Paraben's Porn Detector Stick sniffs out unwanted images on your computer

I'm not quoting this article because it has a fairly negative spin on pornography. My attitude towards porn is that it is a part of people private lives and sexuality so it is none of the governments business provided the participants are consenting adults.

I don't think that porn harms teenagers particularly. It didn't hurt me or my friends.

Anyway, the Porn Detector Stick looks like a good idea. You run the software on a computer and it pulls all the porn off it. If you're stepping your computer down to the kids or giving a work computer back you can be reasonably confident that it isn't going to express your sexuality to kids or workmates.

Gizmag Article:

Gay prostitution ring linked to Vatican

VATICAN CITY - One of Pope Benedict's ceremonial ushers and a member of an elite choir in St Peter's Basilica have been implicated in a gay prostitution ring, in the latest sexual scandal to taint the Vatican.

Link:

My favorite question: Is this religion teaching people how to be good?
These horrible, hypocritical people presume to tell us we should listen to their instruction on correct moral behaviour. Come on!

Conroy, I think he's a Catholic, wants to tell us what's suitable on the web... really?

Rudd! He went and visited the pope... in the very place where this was going on. And he presumes to tell us that the net us a dangerous place for kids.

Government: Don't feed the trolls

There are jerks on the internet. Given how many jerks there are off the internet, this shouldn't surprise anyone. (I'm willing to bet that the first cave painting was barely dry before a jerk came along and drew an oversized penis on one of the animals.)

Nevertheless, the offensive defacement last week of two Facebook pages, tributes to slain Queensland children Elliott Fletcher and Trinity Bates, became a minor flap in the media. Words like "sinister", "disgusting" and "sick" quickly appeared in various articles.

EFA schools the government on not feeding the trolls.

Man allegedy photographed kids at swimming carnivals

CONCERNED parents have made a notable citizen's arrest, detaining a man alleged to have trawled swimming carnivals throughout the state, photographing children.

The 36-year-old man, from Townsville, caught the eye of parents when he positioned himself in the marshalling area of a swimming carnival at Thornlands State School, in Redland City.

Link:

Most important quote from the story:

A search of the man's vehicle also turned up a Bible.

Real world policing and protection is what protects children from pedophiles.

Clever Policing and "The Wyoming Toolkit" protect children

Part of the argument against the filter is that it will impede police in their investigations. It's not like a speed limit that the police can ignore with their lights and sirens on. Filtering will stop everyone from performing tasks on the net.

Imagine what this group could do if they had the millions that Conroy has wasted just on the trial. Howard threw $60 million at advertising the problem and only had a 5% download rate on his free PC-based (and affective) filter.

The Courier Mail article

FIFTEEN sexually abused Queensland children have been rescued since police started using new technology to track offenders.

The rescues, that occurred across the state, involved three pedophiles already engaged in the court process.

Police began using the Wyoming Toolkit software 12 months ago to identify peer-to-peer users dealing in obscene images.

Dealing with the dark side of Facebook

Macquarie University's John Selby, who lectures on internet regulation, said laws that criminalise acts such as defamation, child pornography, racial vilification, inciting violence and causing pyschological or economical harm already existed and applied to the internet.

Link:

Another unworkable idea.

The filtering continues to spread.

Rudd's jumped on the bandwagon now.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he would consider introducing an internet ombudsman after Facebook tributes to two dead children were defaced with pornography.

Rudd said he would look into an idea put forward by Independent Senator Nick Xenophon to appoint an official who would be responsible for taking complaints and action against such material.

This is the biggest bit of troll feeding ever! Has Rudd ever been online?

Link:

Conroy's funnier in the Muppet's Swedish Chef voice...

Link:

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.

Opposition grows to internet filter

BACKBENCH MPs on both sides of politics opposed to the government's internet filtering proposal are vigorously lobbying their colleagues, creating a potential roadblock to the plan backed by the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy.

Link SMH:

Opposition amongst politicians is growing

What does 158kg of R18+ submissions look like?

Video games retailer EB Games today revealed it had received over 46,000 submissions from customers in support of a new R18+ Australian classification category for games. And this is what it looks like.

30,000 of the submissions were hand-signed in EB Games' stores over the past two weeks, with another 16,000 collected online in conjunction with Grow Up Australia, an organisation also pushing for a R18+ rating. The retailer will hand all of the signed submissions - 158kg of paper - to the Attorney's General's Department this week.

Link:

46000 submissions for the creation of an R18+ category for games. I agree that adults should be allowed to play adult games. Further, I think there should be an "Unclassified" category. That would make the classification process look more like classification and less like censorship.

It's just porn

SMH reporter interviews real live porn stars.
Isis says that no-one she talks to in the industry is complaining about being porn stars. Only people outside assume that they are victims (around the 3 minute mark).

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