Blocked: Internet filtering, drug websites and harm reduction in Australia

The federal government has proposed legislation mandating that internet service providers (ISPs) block all websites hosting refused classification content. According to the Australian communications and media authority (ACMA), refused classification content includes “child abuse and child sexual abu...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Barratt, Monica
Format: Journal Article
Published: Dovetail 2011
Online Access:http://www.dovetail.org.au/media/34419/301111weboutput.pdf
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/44749
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author Barratt, Monica
author_facet Barratt, Monica
author_sort Barratt, Monica
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The federal government has proposed legislation mandating that internet service providers (ISPs) block all websites hosting refused classification content. According to the Australian communications and media authority (ACMA), refused classification content includes “child abuse and child sexual abuse material, depictions of bestiality, material containing excessive violence or sexual violence, detailed instruction in crime, violence or drug use, and/or material that advocates the doing of a terrorist act”. Presently, online content that is brought to the attention of the ACMA can be refused classification, but only websites hosted in Australia can be issued with a notice forcing them to shut down. Website owners can easily bypass these laws by hosting their websites in other less restrictive countries. Under the proposed legislation, ISPs would be required to block all sites that meet the definition of refused classification. In 2011, the Australian law reform commission began a review of the national classification scheme, including within its investigation the definition of refused classification. The national drug research institute (NDRI) has recently responded to the issues paper by considering the potential public health impacts of the proposed internet filter for people who use drugs.
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publishDate 2011
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-447492017-01-30T15:16:13Z Blocked: Internet filtering, drug websites and harm reduction in Australia Barratt, Monica The federal government has proposed legislation mandating that internet service providers (ISPs) block all websites hosting refused classification content. According to the Australian communications and media authority (ACMA), refused classification content includes “child abuse and child sexual abuse material, depictions of bestiality, material containing excessive violence or sexual violence, detailed instruction in crime, violence or drug use, and/or material that advocates the doing of a terrorist act”. Presently, online content that is brought to the attention of the ACMA can be refused classification, but only websites hosted in Australia can be issued with a notice forcing them to shut down. Website owners can easily bypass these laws by hosting their websites in other less restrictive countries. Under the proposed legislation, ISPs would be required to block all sites that meet the definition of refused classification. In 2011, the Australian law reform commission began a review of the national classification scheme, including within its investigation the definition of refused classification. The national drug research institute (NDRI) has recently responded to the issues paper by considering the potential public health impacts of the proposed internet filter for people who use drugs. 2011 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/44749 http://www.dovetail.org.au/media/34419/301111weboutput.pdf Dovetail fulltext
spellingShingle Barratt, Monica
Blocked: Internet filtering, drug websites and harm reduction in Australia
title Blocked: Internet filtering, drug websites and harm reduction in Australia
title_full Blocked: Internet filtering, drug websites and harm reduction in Australia
title_fullStr Blocked: Internet filtering, drug websites and harm reduction in Australia
title_full_unstemmed Blocked: Internet filtering, drug websites and harm reduction in Australia
title_short Blocked: Internet filtering, drug websites and harm reduction in Australia
title_sort blocked: internet filtering, drug websites and harm reduction in australia
url http://www.dovetail.org.au/media/34419/301111weboutput.pdf
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/44749