Do we need Coalition's $100m net protection measures? asks EFA

Stuart Corner
Thursday, 12 August 2010 14:20

IT Policy - Regulation

Electronic Frontiers Australia has welcomed the bundle of Internet protection measures announced the Coalition as being superior to both the ALP's heavy handed censorship plans and to former Howard Government policy, but has questioned whether the problems merit the $100m budget allocated.

The key planks of the Coalition cybersafety policy are: $60m for home PC filters; $30m for Cyber-safety outreach; $10.5m to educate and "empower" school principals; a ministerial advisory committee on social networking.

EFA's vice chairman, Colin Jacobs, says: "compared to the Conroy Curtain the Coalition policy is somewhat of a refreshing return to common sense. Again, the most serious issues with this policy are mainly based around the underlying premise. We all agree we want children to be safe online, but before we spend $100 million on a problem, we would expect to see the problem itself well-researched and quantified.

"Yes, there are risks to children (and adults) when interacting with others online. The best research on the subject, however, does not paint the picture of a national emergency. A considered review of the literature, and a little common sense, might bring one to the conclusion that using the Internet is in fact one of the safest and most rewarding pastimes a child could choose. Is, therefore, a $100 million response truly necessary?

Jacobs contends there is little demand for the free filter: "research shows that only a minority of parents will actually want filters," and that a focus on cyber-bullying makes a distinction between the online and physical worlds that exists only in the minds of older generations.

"Any detailed research into [bullying] makes it plain that cyber-bullying is just one facet of bullying in general; it's the same kids being bullied by the same peers both offline and online. Unlike politicians who grew up in the 60s, young people today don't see a distinction between their online lives and their lives. Therefore a dedicated cyber-bullying policy is probably doomed to fail as an attempt to patch one small symptom of a larger problem."

Jacobs however reserves his strongest condemnation for the Coalition's plan to set up a ministerial advisory committee on social networking, branding it as "silly" and saying: "It's hard to imagine just what they can do; if an incident like this Facebook defacement flap [where tribute pages to two children who died were flooded with obscene messages and pornographic content] come to their attention, it's hard to see the minister being able to take any sensible or desirable action."

Jacobs added: "The Greens are yet to formally announce their cyber-safety policy, but we understand it is imminent and will also focus on giving parents a choice at home. But with Labor still pushing for the censorwall and Family First hoping to place a levy on Internet users to support net censorship, the Coalition's plan is currently looking pretty good."