Australia is about to launch a new Internet filter that is supposed to protect Australian Internet users from “child pornography, excessive violence, instructions in crime or drug use and advocacy of terrorism”. Now these type of Internet filters are common in places such as China and have been used in Iran as well as Egypt. In those countries the aim is to remove their populations from “Western indulgences” such as freedom, enjoying your life and the sick practice of feminism. Clearly in these countries the filter has been used for problematic reason for the filter but the Australian version seems like it’s there for a good reason right? I’m not sure to be honest.
It’s one thing to block illegal and illicit content but surely it’s a system that could easily be flawed? Reports are coming in that it’s not highly effective and either doesn’t block what it is intended for or blocks innocent content that is innocuously named. Sure, it can be fixed and sorted out easily but the issue in my mind is that one person’s view of “illicit” or “illegal” is vastly different from another persons.
I’m not saying that children shouldn’t be protected from the filth found on the Internet but if a democratic nation like Australia is setting such a precedent shouldn’t we be worried? I guess my worry is that today it’s child pornography but the next day it’s anti-governmental content being conveniently removed from the Internet. If a government can remove any content they feel is fit then they can easily shape the minds of their people.
The solution is relatively simple: an independent body needs to be formed that has worldwide mandate to protect us from the filth that is on the Internet. They must have a very specific mandate on what is considered “filth”, one that is difficult to modify.
Governmental control of the Internet scares me, not because I feel that child porn is acceptable but because it’s one easy (and vaguely paranoid) jump to a “Big Brother” scenario. This is a very big no-no in my opinion and is something we all need to avoid.
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