Australian Internet Filtering Blacklist

[Prawn_86]

Not specifically related to travel but is something i feel very strongly about.

How can a 'democratic' government try and keep a secret list and then fine anyone who publishes is? How can they actually get away with even thinking about filtering the internet?

The list is maintained by Australian Communications and Media Authority (AMCA) and not surprisingly has been denyed as been the 'real one.

People need to stand up and be heard as our rights are been eroded quicker than one might think

[Prawn_86]

A SECRET list of websites purporting to be from the communications watchdog has been leaked to the public, and includes one of the most popular sites in the country.

The pornography site, which news.com.au cannot name, is the 38th most popular site in Australia, according to web ranking service Alexa.

It is more popular than sites like White Pages, Yellow Pages, Optus, Career One and the official sites of the NSW, Victoria and Queensland state governments.

However the Communicationed Minister has denied this "leaked list" is the original from the watchdog.

A secret blacklist of illegal sites, maintained by the Australian Communications And Media Authority (ACMA), is the basis of the Federal Government's web filtering plan.

Under the plan, all internet service providers will be forced to block access to sites on the blacklist.

The fake list was published on a public website without any age verification or warnings.

It contains 2395 sites, which is what identified it as a fake, says Communications Minister Stephen Conroy.

"The published list purports to be current at 6 August 2008 and apparently contains approximately 2400 URLs whereas the ACMA blacklist for the same date contained 1061 URLs," Senator Conroy said in a statement.

Last November the media watchdog said its blacklist contained 1370 sites.

“The leaking of the list has confirmed some of our worst fears,” said vice-chair of Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) Colin Jacobs earlier today, before the list was slammed by Senator Conroy.

“This was bound to happen, especially as mandatory filtering would require the list to be distributed to ISPs all around the country."

As well as sites suspected of publishing child pornography the fake list includes pages on Wikipedia, YouTube and Wikileaks as well as online gambling sites.

ACMA has warned that anyone who republishes the list or attempts to access child pornography sites on it could face up to 10 years in prison.

It has also warned that linking to sites on the list could incur fines of up to $11,000 a day.


http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,25210163-5014239,00.html

[Prawn_86]

The porn site that the above article mentions is redtube.com **NB It is an 18+ adult site** according to the latest Alexa list

[Prawn_86]

NINE in 10 people expect their internet service providers (ISPs) to offer open and unrestricted access to the web, a survey has found.
The survey, commissioned by Google, Yahoo and Skype, came as the EU holds talks on a joint deal to reform telecoms rules to boost competition.
"EU lawmakers should make sure that national authorities have the powers they need to act in cases where traffic management by telecommunication companies constitute unnecessary, discriminatory and/or anti-competitive behavior," the companies said in a joint statement.
A similar plan has been proposed by the Australian Government, which will be testing a compulsory ISP-level web filter.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,25210484-5014239,00.html

[Prawn_86]

A SHOCKING list of "banned websites" did not come from the communications watchdog, says Communications Minister Stephen Conroy.

The list, purported to be from the Australian Media and Communications Authority (ACMA), was "leaked" to an international website and included an Australian dentist's page, poker websites, and a porn site ranked in Alexa's Top 50 most popular websites in Australia.

"I am aware of reports that a list of URLs has been placed on a web site. This is not the ACMA blacklist," Senator Conroy said in a statement.

The website which published the list currently appears to be offline.

"The published list purports to be current at 6 August 2008 and apparently contains approximately 2400 URLs whereas the ACMA blacklist for the same date contained 1061 URLs."

Last November ACMA said its blacklist contained 1370 sites.

The watchdog has released a statement clarifying that it was aware of some websites made public, but the leaked list was not its own.

"ACMA has previously investigated and taken action on material—including child pornography and child sexual abuse images—at some of the sites on this list of 2300 URLs," the organisation said in a statement.

"However, the list provided to ACMA differs markedly in length and format to the ACMA blacklist. The ACMA blacklist has at no stage been 2300 URLs in length and at August 2008 consisted of 1061 URLs. It is therefore completely inaccurate to say that the list of 2300 URLs constitutes an ACMA blacklist. "

"It also appears that many of the 2300 URLs provided on the list are no longer active."

ACMA is investigating the matter and may refer it to the Australian Federal Police.

The watchdog has warned that anyone who republishes the list or attempts to access child pornography sites on it could face up to 10 years in prison.

It has also warned that linking to sites on the list could incur fines of up to $11,000 a day.

"The ACMA blacklist of prohibited URLs has been in place since 2000" Senator Conroy said.

"URLs placed on the list have been deemed to contain prohibited content as determined by the Broadcasting Services Act 1992."

"The ACMA blacklist is currently provided to vendors of filtering software,"

"Under current law, ACMA has the power to issue take-down notices for prohibited URLs hosted in Australia. However, it has no power to do the same for content hosted overseas."

The Minister's office has been contacted for comment

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,25210931-5014239,00.html

[Prawn_86]

The Australian communications regulator's top-secret blacklist of banned websites has been leaked on to the web and paints a harrowing picture of Australia's forthcoming internet censorship regime.
Wikileaks, an anonymous document repository for whistleblowers, obtained the list, which has been seen by this website, and plans to publish it for public consumption on its website imminently.
Wikileaks has previously published the blacklists for Thailand, Denmark and Norway.
University of Sydney associate professor Bjorn Landfeldt said the leaked list "constitutes a condensed encyclopedia of depravity and potentially very dangerous material".
He said the leaked list would become "the concerned parent's worst nightmare" as curious children would inevitably seek it out.
But about half of the sites on the list are not related to child porn and include a slew of online poker sites, YouTube links, regular gay and straight porn sites, Wikipedia entries, euthanasia sites, websites of fringe religions such as satanic sites, fetish sites, Christian sites, the website of a tour operator and even a Queensland dentist.
"It seems to me as if just about anything can potentially get on the list," Landfelt said

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/03/19/1237054961100.html

[Prawn_86]

The site that published the list; www.wikileaks.org (http://www.wikileaks.org) is currently down.

Who said we live in a free country?

For all those who oppose this Electronic Frontiers Australia's (EFA) website is www.efa.org.au

[Prawn_86]

www.wikileaks.org (http://www.wikileaks.org) is back up and running and has the following to say re the AMCA blacklist:


This list contains 2395 webpages or site variations derived from the those secretly banned by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and used by a government approved censorship software maker in its "ACMA only" censorship mode. The last update to the ACMA list is August 6, 2008.
While Wikileaks (http://www.wikileaks.org/wiki/Wikileaks) is used to exposing secret government censorship in developing countries, we now find Australia acting like a democratic backwater. Apparently without irony, ACMA (http://wikipedia.org/wiki/ACMA) threatens fines of upto $11,000 a day for linking to sites on its secret, unreviewable, censorship blacklist -- a list the government hopes to expand into a giant national censorship machine (http://www.wikileaks.org/wiki/There_is_no_bigger_issue_than_net_censorship).
History shows that secret censorship systems, whatever their original intent, are invariably corrupted into anti-democratic behavior.
This week saw Australia joining China and the United Arab Emirates as the only countries censoring Wikileaks. We were not notified by ACMA.

[Prawn_86]

The list is still accessible on wikileaks.org for those that are interested.

[Prawn_86]

IINET has pulled out of the federal Government's internet filtering trials.
iiNet only agreed to participate in the trial to demonstrate that the filter was flawed and a waste of taxpayers’ money, iiNet managing director Michael Malone said.

Mr Malone cited drawn-out negotiations with the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE), constant changes in policy, and last week’s leak of a secret internet blacklist (http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,25214571-15306,00.html) as reasons for pulling out.

"It became increasingly clear that the trial was not simply about restricting child pornography or other such illegal material, but a much wider range of issues including what the Government simply describes as ‘unwanted material’ without an explanation of what that includes," Mr Malone said.

iiNet's withdrawal from the ISP filter trials is another blow for the controversial project. Last week the federal Government's plans for the nationwide internet filter were put in jeopardy when its top-secret blacklist of banned web pages was leaked.


http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25228031-15306,00.html

[Prawn_86]

Its obvious to anyone with half a brain that its not only child porn that will be on the list. The gov will try and make full use of it to stop politcal agendas etc

[EverNothing]

THE Federal Government is pushing ahead with its controversial plan to filter the internet, saying illegal material can be blocked "with 100 per cent accuracy and negligible impact on internet speed".

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,,26493390-911,00.html

As much as I (perhaps previously) admire K-Rudd, he is shaping up to be one of the most disingenuous Prime Ministers in recent history.

All talk, no action. A professional spin doctor who is incredibly sneaky. Unfortunately the federal opposition is even worse. Me thinks the emergence of a third party is on the table - or so I hope and pray.

In the meantime...

Kevin Rudd = Mao Zedong. :mad: