Filter confers legitimacy on broader censorship: Google

James Riley
Monday, 15 February 2010 21:59

IT Policy - Regulation

Google Australia has warned Government its internet filtering plan could not only damage the nation's international reputation, but risked 'conferring legitimacy' on the censorship regimes of less savoury governments around the world.

And it has poured yet more cold water on the prospect of Google becoming a voluntary agent for the Government censorship policy, bluntly stating that it will not remove any content from its high-volume YouTube site that has not been tested by its own legal team.

"We first check that the request complies with the law, and we will seek to narrow it if the request is overly broad," the Google submission said. "Beyond these clearly defined parameters, we will not remove material from YouTube."

The company says it will comply with the law, as it does in any country it operates. But its submission makes clear that Government should have no expectation that Google will voluntarily remove material judged under the program to be 'Refused Classification' content, and that it would use its legal muscle to resist.

"The Government's policy for filtering represents a direct threat to content uploaded by YouTube users and we are committed to advocating on behalf of our users and their right to express their views and gain access to information," it said.

As the Google campaign against Rudd Government plans to introduce mandatory ISP level filtering has moved up a gear, its primary concern remains that the scope of the content to be filtered was too wide.