ACMA caught blacklisting political advocacy site

“There has never been any suggestion that the Australian Government would seek to block political content.” – Senator Conroy at ALIA 2009.

Despite numerous claims that the Labor government will not use the filter to hamper political discourse, the ACMA has begun blocking political sites such as the anti-abortion advocacy site abortiontv.com.

Regardless of your stance on abortion, the right to speak against it is one that any freedom loving person can tolerate as an expression of free speech.

In a test of Senator Conroy’s claims that the ACMA blacklist contains only illegal content, whirlpool community user xFoadx sent a random page from abortiontv.com to the ACMA complaints department. This was the response he received:

Subject: Complaint Reference: 2009000009/ ACMA-691604278
Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2009 15:45:00 +1100
From: online@acma.gov.au
Complaint Reference: 2009000009/ ACMA-691604278
I refer to the complaint that you lodged with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) on 5th January 2009 about certain content made available at:
http://www.abortiontv.com/Pics/AbortionPictures6.htm
Following investigation of your complaint, ACMA is satisfied that the internet content is hosted outside Australia, and that the content is prohibited or potential prohibited content.
The Internet Industry Association (IIA) has a code of practice (http://www.iia.net.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=415&Itemid=33) for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) which, among other things, set out arrangements for dealing with such content. In accordance with the code, ACMA has notified the above content to the makers of IIA approved filters, for their attention and appropriate action. The code requires ISPs to make available to customers an IIA approved filter.
Information about ACMA’s role in regulating online content (including internet and mobile content), including what is prohibited or potentially prohibited content is available at ACMA’s website at www.acma.gov.au/hotline
Thank you for bringing this matter to ACMA’s attention.

Regardless of the graphic nature of some images on the site, there is no doubt that this is a social advocacy site and not pornographic.

This ACMA ruling means that Australian based PC filtering vendors will have this site added to their list of blocked sites and that, if Conroy’s censorwall is implemented, this site will be blocked within the 1300 site blacklist.

This move has alienated even the conservatives that originally mandated the filter. Discussion amongst the Sydney Anglican community shows concern that religious sites may be blocked due to anti-vilification laws deeming the orthodox anti-homosexual beliefs of the church as illegal or ‘unwanted’.

Anglican community moderator Luke Stevens writes:

Could Sydneyanglicans.net be blocked as “illegal” if it carries material deemed at some point now or in the future as vilifying other religions?

Senator Minchin, Conroy’s shadow minister, has written an article in the Sydney Morning Herald slamming Conroy’s plan to censor the Internet.

This article was originally posted at blog.websinthe.org.