Internet filtering in Australia

[yesthattom]

"The proposal would require Internet providers to filter out content that could be objectionable to children."

I doubt that children find most of that stuff objectionable. The proposal is to filter stuff that is politically unpopular. Since some of that stuff is content that parents don't usually want children to see, they are emphasizing that.

The first web filtering system I used blocked a site for women with breast cancer. I had co-workers with parents/wives/others with breast cancer that wanted to learn more so they could provide the best support. They had to go through a humiliating process to request an exception for the particular web sites.

That was 1995. It hasn't gotten any better since.

Comments

[lovingboth]

The one I came across - at a project for male and trans sex workers - blocked the whole bbc.co.uk site because it found a page containing the word 'breast'.

[ceo]

I seem to recall that the term "hooter cancer" had a brief surge in popularity during AOL's first foray into content filtering.

[dpfesh.livejournal.com]

I genuinely see sites that could help me learn different ways to be a better Supervisor / Worker Bee.. but you know what? they're all blocked because they are related to "Job Hunt Sites".
Yet i could get to OkCupid for months?!

Ahhh, i hate firewalls. Just ping anyone that visits like..www.ass.org at work a billion times a week and fire them. Get over it. ..oo..big scary interwebs.. ~waggles fingers~

[barking-iguana.livejournal.com]

The kids at my school have figured out how to get to porn, but math games are blocked.

[awfief.livejournal.com]

Actually, if you could explain cancer to a child in such a way that they'd understand it, they'd totally find it objectionable. But you'd traumatize the child, most likely. :)