INTERNET CENSORSHIP

The Australian government is set to impose Chinese-style internet
censorship by enforcing a universal national filter that will block
websites deemed " controversial" as part of a wider agenda to
regulate the internet.

A provision whereby Internet users could opt out of the filter y
contacting their ISP has been stripped from the legislation, meaning
the filter will be universally mandatory. The System Administrators
Guild of Australia and the Electronic Frontiers Australia have
attacked the proposal, saying it will restrict web access, raise
prices and slow Internet traffic speeds. The plan was originally
created as a way to combat child pornography and adult content, but
could be extended to include almost any "controversial" websites.


• In a display of bipartisanship by US Democrats and
Republicans alike are calling for all-out mandatory ISP snooping on
all US citizens.
• In December 2006.Republican Senator John McCain tabled a
proposal to introduce legislation that would fine blogs up to
$300,000 for offensive statements, photos, and videos posted by
visitors on comment boards.
• The White House own declassified strategy for "winning the
war on terror" targets Internet conspiracy theory sites as a
recruiting ground for terrorists and threatens to "diminish" their
influence.
• The US government wants to force bloggers and online
grassroots activists to register and regularly report their
activities to Congress. Criminal charges including a possible ail
term of up to one year could be the punishment for non-compliance.
There goes the first amendment and free thought.
• A landmark November 2006 legal case on behalf of the
recording Industry Association of America and other global trade
organizations sought to criminalize all Internet file sharing of any
kind a copyright infringement, effectively shutting down the World
Wide Web; its argument was supported by the US government.
• A landmark legal ruling in Sydney goes further than ever
before in setting the trapdoor for the destruction of the internet as
we know it and the end of alternative news websites and blogs by
creating the precedent that simply linking to other web sites is
breach of copyright and piracy.
• The European Union has also vowed to shut down "terrorists"
who use the Internet to spread propaganda. The EU Data Retention
bill, passed after much controversy and implemented in 2007,
obligated telephone operators and Internet service providers to store
information on who called whom and who e-mailed whom for at leas six
months. Under this law investigators in any EU country, and most
bizarrely even in the USA, can access EU citizens' data on phone
calls, SMSs. Emails and instant messaging services. The EU also
proposed legislation that would prevent users from uploading any form
of video without a license.


There goes the end of free thought. My blogs and web sites will
definitely be on the "blocked" list. I am already banned from all
Google groups.

Internet censorship is perhaps the most pertinent issue that freedom
advocates should rally to combat over the next few years, lest we
allow a cyber-gag to be placed over our mouths and say goodbye to our
last medium of free and open communication. –Source: Prison Planet,
29 October 2008, www.infowars.com:80/?p=5619
And www.GuardDogBooks.com