Australian government calls for live Internet filter trial

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 12 November 2008 02:20

Business IT - Networking

Given the negative comments made about filtering by executives at various ISPs, the department may find it hard to get the cross section it's looking for.

The carrot for ISPs is that they will be able to keep the hardware and software purchased with government funding, which will give them a commercial advantage over their competitors if and when compulsory filtering is introduced.

Furthermore, "ISPs who wish to continue to offer a filtering service to their customers following the conclusion of the Pilot are encouraged to do so."

Not "may do so", but "are encouraged to do so."

Will there be a stick? You'd hope not. But it is easy to imagine someone having a quiet word with the large carriers about the amount of business the government puts their way, and the need to maintain good relationships.

If you're in the "filters are easy to get around" camp, don't get too excited - that's all part of the pilot. Various bypass techniques such as the use of proxies will be trialled, and "alert/alarm/detection mechanisms reviewed."

In addition to the technical evaluation, customers involved in the pilot will be surveyed for their perceptions of the effects and effectiveness of filtering.

What's the big gap in the pilot? Please read on.