I generally like to look for the positives so following on from my last post that may have come across as perhaps a little negative it’s great to find at least one positive to ISP filtering:

“This is also a unique opportunity because no other government in the world has provided financial incentives to ISPs to implement a service which can be so readily sold on to customers.

We envisage that customers will be willing to pay an additional $5 per month on top of their broadband services to have that higher level of filtering,” Mancer said

- Watchdog Launches Hosted Filtering Services in Australia

Since this comes from the company that “supplied filtering systems to three of the nine ISPs involved in the recent Australia government filtering trials at the Enex Test Laboratory” they’re in an good position to put a positive spin on the whole thing.

I’m a little concerned about what paying an extra $60 a year for a “higher level of filtering” implies about the proposed mandatory ISP filtering scheme? Is the cyber safety of our children being fobbed off with some budget version of their filtering system?

But hey, this is supposed to be a positive post and it’s good to know there is an upgrade plan should the proposed plan be less effective than expected!

Taking the lead from Google’s post which outlines their views on the Australian Government’s plans to implement mandatory ISP filtering we feel it is important that all Australian based internet users also indicate their views. Here, then, is the official Ingredients view on the following plan to:

Provide a mandatory ‘clean feed’ internet service for all homes, schools and public computers that are used by Australian children. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will filter out content that is identified as prohibited by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). The ACMA ‘blacklist’ will be made more comprehensive to ensure that children are protected from harmful and inappropriate online material

- Labor’s Plan for Cyber-safety

It’s rubbish.

If you think we’re being flippant, you’re correct, it’s intentional. We could spend ages going through the details of why it’s rubbish, but do we need to?. Why it makes us very disappointed that what appeared to be a very technologically forward looking Government is now being looked on internationally as naive and backward thinking, but do we need to? Why it may even have the opposite effect by creating a very false sense of cyber security, but do we need to?.

What we do need to do though, is add our voice to the many that already think it’s rubbish and you can too.