Australian Internet Censorship Laws

The internet censorship regime was implemented in relatively recent years and has been the topic of many heated debates. The Australian internet censorship regime is comprised of both law and regulation. These are implemented at both commonwealth and State and Territory level. This is because the Constitution does not have the power to issue this regime independently.

The Commonwealth part of this regime applies to the any “objectionable” material or anything that is deemed unsuitable for children. If there is anything on the internet that falls into these two categories the sites will be issued with a “Take Down” notice. This will be issued by the government regulator OFLC. They will be given a time frame in which they are to remove the content.

The State and Territorial side of this regime then tag team with the Commonwealth and can prosecute the providers or creators of the “objectionable” material. The procedures however vary from state to state and territory to territory.

The Censorship regarding the internet has raised many questions about the restrictions and the impact that these have on free speech. In relation to any other parts of the western worlds, the internet censorship laws are the most restrictive. They operate in secrecy and withhold some information about how categories are judged. This has raised more that a few eyebrows with not only activists, but also the general public.

Having it in the law that the internet is restricted, filtered and monitored, creates some issues with the people who brought this regime in.

The Australian internet censorship laws consist of two filters. One of which is mandatory and prevents any “Unwanted” material to be viewed by the general public, along with filtering any illegal material as decreed by the internet laws. These laws are comprised of: The Protection of Children Act, 1978; Civil Government Act, 1982; Sexual Offences Act, 2003; Memorandum of Understanding, 2003.

No one is questioning the filter preventing the illegal content coming through; in fact this can only be a positive thing helping to squash such internet sites. The public, however, have an issue with the “Unwanted” aspect of the legislation. This has never been defined by the Telecommunications Minister and this dictates what the filter prevents the country from seeing. However there was no survey or vote taken place as to what the general public feel is “Unwanted”.

The law is there to safe guard the vulnerable and young, and ministers argue that it has been successful in this, although there is yet to be any formal evidence of this.

The Internet Censorship Debate

As with most things are life, there are always positive and negatives. This is especially the case with the net, the internet censorship debate has many different views.

It is inarguable that the internet has changed the world. It has made the way we research easier; we have the wonders of the world at our finger tips; delight and desires realised at the touch of a button and it has revolutionised the way we shop and keep in touch with one another. This is especially helpful for those in remote places who long to keep connected to the rest of the world.

But there are negatives to the World Wide Web. It is now easier to access inappropriate material and the internet is a scouring ground for criminals to prey on the young and vulnerable.

As the internet has become more mainstream and embraced by society, the powers that be have censored the internet. All countries have some form of censorship imposed upon them; some may be rather lax whilst others take firm control over what can be viewed over the World Wide Web.

No one is disputing that the internet can be a dangerous place full of uncertainties. But the level of censorship that government applies can be questioned.

Within certain countries the internet is totally restricted, the government decides what can and can not be viewed. Impossible, I hear you cry! But it is true. In these countries the government control all computers that have internet connection capability. Now, this obviously is the extreme of internet censorship.

But the government will obviously always argue that censorship is for the good and the welfare of the public. Protecting the young and the vulnerable is the reason for censorship. Yet, when there are no clear definitions of what is offensive or harmful, and then the debate flares.

The reason that there is such a debate over internet safety is down to the impact that this censorship has over the basic human right of Free Speech.

Some argue that censorship of the internet limits free speech and this goes against basic human rights. This is true, however there are laws relating to Free Speech that concern speech when it id classed as harmful, offensive or insights hate.

The problem arises, however, when considering what is classed as offensive. Everyone has a different view point built up by their own beliefs and experiences. If the internet was censored due to what every person found offensive, I doubt that there would be anything left.

This is where the internet censorship debate begins to get stuck. Depending on the individual’s viewpoint depends on whether internet censorship is a positive or negative regime.

UK Internet Censorship

The United Kingdom has a quiet relaxed approach to the internet and censorship compared with other countries.

The main area of censorship within the United Kingdom related to images of child abuse. This clearly is something that the general public do not want to see and so there are not a lot of problems with this side of censorship. If a site has been blocked for containing these images, rather than a warning sign being displayed, there will just simply be a sign saying “error”.

So how does UK Internet Censorship Work?

The United Kingdom is censored through a filter called “cleanfeed” which uses data provided by the Internet Watch Foundation to ensure that any banned sites are inaccessible.

The Internet Watch Foundation is a nongovernmental charitable body which offers an online service for the general public.

The role of the Internet Watch Foundation is to report any materials found on the net that are offensive. The group work in conjunction with the police to ensure that the filter and the people responsible for such violations are stopped.

The Internet Watch Foundation was originally set up to focus on the organisations that produce and post child pornography. Recently they have had their remit expanded to cover any posts on the internet that were deemed racist or criminally obscene.

The Internet Watch Foundation are run independently and mostly by volunteers. This is to reduce the possibility of corruption. The Internet Watch Foundation collates all websites that have any material that fall into the aforementioned areas and put them on a blacklist, preventing them from being viewed in the United Kingdom.

In recent years there have been some incidents of UK Internet censorship that have had implications upon the Internet.

One of which being the murder case of Baby Peter, a 17 month old baby. In 2008 and 2009, the media was barred from publishing the names of the people involved in the case, both those accused of his murder and those who should have spotted the neglect. The explanation behind this was to protect the case and the witnesses as fears of reprisals from the general public who were outraged to learn of the murder.

Any websites found to be publishing the names of defendants and the child was subjected to a police investigation for trying to initiate a hate campaign.

This made some of the media, and general public, question just how free speech is in the United Kingdom, and whether the true reason was to protect the case or to protect those who were neglectful of their duty of care towards the child. The presumption is that the UK is a fairly liberal society but maybe UK Internet Censorship is not as relaxed as we imagine.

The Internet Censorship Debate

As with most things are life, there are always positive and negatives. This is especially the case with the Internet and leads almost inevitably to the Internet Censorship Debate.

But there are negatives to the World Wide Web. It is now easier to access inappropriate material and the internet is a scouring ground for criminals to prey on the young and vulnerable.

No one is disputing that the internet can be a dangerous place full of uncertainties. But the level of censorship that government applies can be questioned.

The reason that there is such a debate over internet safety is down to the impact that this censorship has over the basic human right of Free Speech.

This is where the internet debate begins to get stuck. Depending on the individual’s viewpoint depends on whether internet censorship is a positive or negative regime.

3 Tips For Making Your Email Account Private And Secure

Don’t think that the Email Privacy Protection Laws will protect your privacy if you leave your personal information available for everyone to see. To keep your information safe, you must set your privacy settings, don’t share your information, and remember to log off when not on the computer. Continue reading to discover why Email Privacy Protection alone, won’t keep you safe if you don’t.

Your identity is the most important thing you own, it is unique and precious. The best thing you can do to help protect your information is to set yourself up for success with your email account. Set your email account to a more strict privacy setting. Doing so, decreases your chances of unwanted or potential hackers to your email. Now that we have covered setting a strict privacy setting, we need to explore what else you need to know about keeping your email account safe.

It is imperative that you keep your keep your email information private. It is hard to tell whether or not that friend that you gave your user name or password, will keep your information as sacred as you would. Keep your user name, password, and email to yourself. Don’t write it down, send it in an email, or mention it over the phone, you never know who may be observing you. Keeping your information to yourself is a big key to this puzzle, but you need to know what else can protect you from identity theft.

Your computer is the key to securing your important information. It is important that you take steps to keep yourself safe from identity theft. Make sure that you log off after every site you are logged in to, so you are not leaving an open window of opportunity for potential hackers. Also, whenever you leave your computer, remember to log out of your email account, especially if you are at work. Securing your information is important, and will only help along with the Email Privacy Protection Laws.

That pretty much sums it up, you can help protect your identity along with the help of email privacy laws. Help protect yourself by creating a higher privacy setting, not sharing your information, and logging off your email account when finished. It’s time you show the world that you are ready to give yourself the extra protection you need and along with the Email Protection Laws, you can be safe too.

For securing in transit remember the majority of email is carried in clear text and as such easily intercepted by anyone with the right skills and tools. The simplest fix for this is to encrypt your traffic, this can be achieved using a VPN solutions – as per this video demonstrates

Why Are Email Privacy Laws Important?

If you’re looking to keep your information private, then you need to know the importance of email privacy laws. Privacy laws for email accounts protect, children, adults, and businesses, from potential fraud or identity theft. It is imperative to understand how you can keep yourself, your children, and your business safe.

Do you know anyone that doesn’t have at least one email account? Do you realize just how many children around the United States use the computer and consistently communicate to one another through email? Email carriers provide privacy protection for children because it is important to keep kids just as safe on the internet as they are at home. Although, children are covered under the Email Privacy Protection Laws, some email carriers require an adults permission for children to create an account under the age of 13. Now that we have covered how the Email Privacy Laws protect children, we need to touch base on how we, as adults, are protected through these laws.

It is crucial to protect your information in email accounts, just as it is important to protect your information in your bank account. Email Privacy Laws were implemented to save your identity and the identities of your contacts associated with your email account. Your email account stores crucial information such as passwords and user names to other sites, along with financial information, or updates on account balances. In the wrong hands, your email account can be free range to a potential identity thief. We’re not finished yet, email laws protect businesses from potential harm.

Why would a business have any concern whether or not they are protected by email privacy laws? Large Corporations rely on email as their main source of communication between employees. An invasion of email privacy could prove to be crucial in daily business operations. Without email privacy laws, information could be stolen and profits could be lost, thus potentially crippling a business. Email privacy laws play an intricate role in day to day business, without them, anyone with the right knowledge could devastate businesses.

Take the information about Email Privacy Laws, and run with the idea that you and your contacts are protected. Without the Email Privacy Laws, how would you protect yourself, your children, or your business. So, the next time you open up your email, think about how much you would lose if there were no Email Privacy Laws.

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So how does UK Internet Censorship Work?