State bans YouTube

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 01 March 2007 11:08

Your IT - Home IT

Access to YouTube will be blocked from computers in public schools in Victoria, Australia.

The ban will be achieved by adding the popular video sharing site to the blacklist already applied to school's Internet feeds.

The primary reason for the ban is not (as you might expect) the waste of time and resources involved. Instead it is part of an anti-bullying policy.

Last year a group of male Victorian students gained notoriety when they attacked a female student and distributed video of the assault on DVD and YouTube.

Education Services Minister Jacinta Allan said "The Bracks government has never tolerated bullying in schools and this zero tolerance approach extends to the online world."

She also noted that it was parents' responsibility to prevent students posting harmful content from outside schools.