ACS Welcomes NSW Government Backdown on Internet Censorship

Sunday 16 June 2002 - The Australian Computer Society has welcomed a recommendation from the NSW Legislative Council's Standing Committee on Social Issues that the State Government repeal legislation seeking to censor the Internet.

The Final Report of the Inquiry into the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Enforcement Amendment Bill found that Schedule 2 of the Act would not achieve its goal of protecting minors from objectionable content and was "more likely to deter use of the Internet by law-abiding content providers than by those with criminal intent."

Chair of the ACS Economic, Legal and Social Implications Committee, Philip Argy, who wrote and presented the ACS submission to the Inquiry, said the result was an excellent outcome for common sense.

"We put considerable effort into explaining the serious defects in the new provisions and are delighted to see that our submissions were found persuasive in the final report. Although the ACS was also critical of the federal regime, at least it does not impose criminal liability on people for incorrectly guessing what a censor would regard as suitable for consenting adults to see," he said.

Mr Argy, who is also National Vice President of the ACS and a senior partner with prominent law firm, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, said legislators needed to make a greater effort to understand the technology involved so that similar proposals did not re-surface.

"It continues to disappoint us that such a large number of legislators do not understand the fundamental difference between the world wide web and television, namely, that web material can only be obtained by clicking on a hyperlink - it does not arrive unbidden at one's screen.

"Unfortunately, we have become aware that the South Australian Government is planning to implement its own law in this area, which is substantially similar to the legislation the NSW Parliament has now acknowledged should be scrapped.

"The ACS will work with policy-makers in South Australia to try to convince them of the folly of their proposals," he said.

This media release is available on the ACS Web site at http://www.acs.org.au/news/160602.htm

ENDS

About the Australian Computer Society: The ACS is the recognised association for information technology (IT) professionals, attracting a large and active membership from all levels of the IT industry and providing a wide range of services to its 16,000+ members. A member of the Australian Council of Professions, the ACS is the public voice of the IT profession and the guardian of professional ethics and standards in the IT industry, with a commitment to the wider community to ensure the beneficial use of IT. See the ACS Home Page for more information.

Media Enquiries:

Philip Argy, ACS Vice President, Email: Philip.Argy@msj.com.au, Tel: (02) 9296 2054

Caroline New, Caroline New PR, Tel: (02) 9555 1986 or (0411) 889 456, Email: cnew@acslink.net.au