Internet Censorship In Australia
The Australian Senate has passed legislation to outlaw access to Internet
material deemed offensive, violent, and/or pornographic.
The new law, passed in late May and expected to take effect in January
2000, empowers the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) to monitor the
Internet, to investigate complaints, and to require Internet service
providers to block or remove, if necessary, Internet sites anywhere in the
world deemed offensive. Guidelines currently used by an Australian film
classification board will be the basis for judging content.
Web sites, newsgroups and databases will all be subject to censorship.
Even some private email may not be safe from persecution. According to
Communications Minister Richard Alston, while most e-mail won't be
investigated, emails sent to groups could be found illegal, if their
content is judged "offensive."
Politicians in other nations - including the United States - have been
calling for Internet censorship of various kinds for years.
(Sources: Newsbytes News Network, Free-Market.Net)
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