Aussie Firewall: Stepping into Parents’ Shoes?
The “Great Aussie Firewall” is supposed to make browsing the internet safer for Australian kids. It could also put the Australians one step closer to becoming the most western country to boast a state-run internet filter.
This isn’t new news – the Aussies announced last year they’d spend $189 million on the project, but after the recent decision by an Australian judge, declaring drawings of Bart and Lisa Simpson having sex as “child porn,” I’m wondering how far our friends Down Under really need to go.
The most recent tests on six of the proposed filters found they missed three to twelve percent of material
they should have barred and wrongly blocked access to one to eight
percent of sites. The most accurate filters slowed browsing speeds
up to eighty-six percent. So – they’re blocking a lot of “bad” stuff, and some good stuff too – and they’re slowing down the access of information for everyone (child or adult). And this is progress?
An Associated Press report on the issue quotes an Australian ethics professor who complains “net libertarians” believe freedom of speech is more important than limiting what children can access online.
What ever happened to knowing what your kids are doing? If the babymaking Duggars can monitor eighteen different kids’ access to the ‘net, why can’t average families with two point four kids get their hineys to the family room and keep their eyes on the screen?
Image: Daily Mail
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