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Filter Blocks Australian Civil Liberties Group Web Site

Electronic Frontiers Australia's (EFA) Web site was discovered to be blocked by one filter, SurfWatch, on the basis of it containing "sexually explicit" material. The site does not contain any such material.

The site, www.efa.org.au, was selected as Peacefire's "Blocked Site of the Day" - a service that monitors the unexplainable and sometimes unacceptable failings of some commercial filtering software products. Sites blocked come from the political, medical, and educational domains.

While filtering software companies are promoting the use of their products in homes, schools and businesses, critics claim that no matter how good the software, some legitimate Web sites will always be caught up in the filters and many intended to be blocked will slip through.

Groups like the EFA say this is unacceptable, even more so as the private companies that make the software don't reveal what Web sites are blocked.

While the group concedes that a private company can block any Web site it wishes to, the situation in Australia is more complicated, with filters included in the country's Internet censorship laws.

Under the Australian Government approved code of practice for Internet service providers (ISPs), ISPs are required to provide their customers with blocking software from an approved list, with costs being passed on to the end user.

SurfWatch is one of several American-made blocking programs listed as an "approved filter" in the code of practice.

"The code states that filters are added to the list only after approval by the Australian Broadcasting Authority and the Internet Industry Association, so you'd think someone had checked that they operate as advertised," said Irene Graham, EFA's executive director.

"Not so. Although the approved filters were selected from a list in a government-commissioned filter evaluation report, that report emphasizes that filters were 'not tested for how well they carry out filtering, and hence fitness for purpose is not warranted'."

The EFA is concerned that filters like SurfWatch may be installed in schools on the basis that it is "approved" by the government ... to then find it blocks students from useful research sites. It also claims the software is built around American "Bible Belt" moral standards which are out of line with local standards.

Of further concern is that the Australian Broadcasting Authority notifies the makers of approved filters of sites it wants blocked under Australia's Internet censorship laws.

"The Australian public has a right to know exactly which Internet sites the ABA is attempting to control access to, in the same way that decisions banning particular films, publications and computer games are made public," said Graham. "EFA has been attempting to obtain details of such sites for several months under Freedom of Information legislation."

The mandating of ISP-provided filters by the Australian Government has resulted in an increased penetration in Australia of the commercial tools.

Peacefire's "Blocked Site of the Day" is on the Web at www.peacefire.org/BSOTD/.

Reported By Newsbytes, www.newsbytes.com.

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