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Six ISPs Agree To Australian Internet Filter Trial
By Doug Caverly
Staff Writer
Article Date: 2009-02-13
Australia's government has been mulling the idea of filtering the Internet for a long time, and starting this spring, a test will begin. Six ISPs have agreed to play along as the program attempts to block sexual content, violence, and criminal instructions.
The experiment should last six weeks, and Andrew Hendry reports, "The ISPs involved in the first phase of the live pilot are: Primus Telecommunications, Tech 2U, Webshield, OMNIconnect, Netforce and Highway 1." This list is being looked at as both a good and bad thing.
People who don't want the program to go forward are pleased that Australia's top three ISPs aren't involved, since fewer people will be affected. The group also appreciates that at least one of the participating companies - Primus - will let its customers join the experiment (or not) on an opt-in basis.
Just the same, filter opponents are a bit suspicious that big ISPs have been ignored - there's a concern that the results will be skewed - and filter supporters might prefer it if objectionable content got blocked on a much larger scale.
Anyway, an exact start date for the test hasn't yet been determined (or at least made public), so there's a chance that the situation will change. And regardless, it looks like we're still a long way from all Australian ISPs joining either one side of the argument or the other.
About the Author:
Doug is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest eBusiness news.
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