MEDIA RELEASE

ACS Urges Caution on Legislation to Manage Internet Content

ACS Team Presents Evidence to Senate Select Committee on Information Technology regarding the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Bill 1999

Thursday 29 April 1999 - The Australian Computer Society (ACS) has raised concerns with moves by the Federal Government to introduce Internet content management legislation.

The Society's Community Affairs Board (CAB) Director, Andrew Freeman, appeared before the Senator Select Committee on Information Technology in Canberra last night to present evidence in relation to the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Bill 1999.

Mr Freeman said that while the Government's objective to protect Australian children from illegal or offensive material on the Internet was commendable, the extent to which technology could achieve this was limited.

"We are concerned that the Government has unrealistic expectations of what the technology could achieve and believe more time should be spent in discussing this issue before a final resolution on the draft legislation is made," said Mr Freeman, who was supported in his presentation by Tom Worthington, ACS Immediate Past President.

While agreeing that children needed protection, Mr Worthington argued against a restrictive regime which he said would do more harm than good.

"This Bill is important because it's clear that inadequate or ineffective regulation will expose children to some risks on-line. However, heavy-handed regulation could harm the educational and employment opportunities of a generation of Australian children.

"Our ability to adequately educate our coming generations will depend on Internet access, as will the broader Australian economy. While protecting our children from illegal material on-line we must not cut them off from a decent education or the chance of a respectable job," he said.

The ACS submission put forward several principles which it said should form the foundation for any regulation of the Internet:

Support for the principle of freedom of speech.
Regulation of the Internet should be no stronger than that of analogous media, such as books and printed publications in relation to the Web, or the writing of letters and use of the mail system when considering email.
Any regulation of the Internet should generally focus on the producer of the material rather than Internet Service Providers, which only distribute material and are normally not aware of the content.
Attempts to use national blocking technologies will almost certainly be ineffective, and result in detrimental consequences to the development of the Australian Information Economy.
Proposals to regulate the Internet should normally be implemented only after international discussion, and ideally, agreement.
Parents should be given tools to assist them in controlling access to the Internet by children, rather than governments attempting to re-design the Internet so that all the material on it is suitable for persons of any age.

The ACS submission highlighted several positive aspects of the bill, where the Government has responded to concerns raised in previous evidence:

Internet Service Providers will not have to interpret content rating/suitability guidelines - the Government has given that task to the ABA.
ISPs will not be liable without notice, however provisions may disadvantage small companies.
Technically impractical blocking mechanisms are not written into the legislation, but will be determined according to an industry-developed code of practice.

"We are pleased the Government has moved to limit the liability of ISPs rather than making them responsible for monitoring content," said Mr Freeman, "however, some concerns remain."

The involvement of the ABA, is arguably inconsistent with a self regulatory model.
The Bill treats the Internet as broadcasting, which is generally not appropriate.
The Bill provides no explicit protections for consumers who may be injured by its operation.
Insufficient time has been provided to comment on the Bill. The issues are complex, need greater examination and public debate. There are critical interactions with issues, such as privacy, not addressed in the Bill.

The ACS Submission, with detailed comments about specific clauses in the Bill, is available online.

This media release is located on the ACS web site at http://www.acs.org.au/news/intupdat.htm

ENDS

The Australian Computer Society 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 members. It is the public voice of the IT profession, 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:

Andrew Freeman, ACS Community Affairs Board Director, Tel: (02) 6258 7411, Email: afreeman@pcug.org.au

Tom Worthington, ACS Immediate Past President, Tel: (0419) 496 150, Email: tom.worthington@tomw.net.au

Caroline New, Caroline New PR, Tel: (02) 9980 8060 or (0411) 889 456, Email: cnew@acslink.net.au