One of the more tedious arguments used by people who favour compulsory Internet filtering and other forms of censorship is “People who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear from these systems”. In his LCA keynote today, security researcher Jacob Appelbaum highlighted a simple point that’s worth making when people say that: if you have nothing to hide, why are you wearing clothes and why are there curtains on your house? More »
Federal government plans to impose compulsory internet filtering have dropped off the radar somewhat, but here’s more evidence that it’s not exactly top-of-mind for most parents: according to new Telstra-sponsored research, just one-third of Australian parents have installed any kind of blocking software. More »
Google has been issuing transparency reports detailing government requests to have content removed for a while now. The latest instalment promises more detail, including when governments have asked for individual user data. For Australia, the number of removal requests has dropped, but there were 345 requests for individual user information between July and December 2010, and Google coughed up in around 280 cases. More »
Next week, Channel Nine will begin showing Come Fly With Me, the latest show from Little Britain creators David Walliams and Matt Lucas, in an 8pm Monday timeslot. Walliams and Lucas’ risque approach doesn’t fit well with 8pm viewing regulations, so Nine has decided to trim the episodes for that slot while showing the uncut versions on Go. More »
Google has just released its biannual figures on what content government bodies asked it to remove in the first six months of 2010. The biggest surprise? Just how many items on Google Groups were removed at the request of the Australian government. More »
We’ve covered similar territory before, but the post at Gizmodo by Colin Jacobs from the EFA showing five ways any filter can be avoided in two minutes is well worth checking out. What exactly is this plan to create a secret government list of banned sites protecting us from again? [Gizmodo]
Proposals for web censorship might be very poorly conceived and planned, but not everything relating to controlling content has to be so stupid. Rules requiring a “parental lock” on TV equipment sold in Australia are a good case in point. More »
Remember that poll we featured a week or so ago asking if you’d vote for a party which supports the Labor Internet filter? Having run on 17 Australian technology sites, the poll is now closed and the results are clear: virtually no-one wants to vote for the filter. More »
