The Federal government's plan to require ISPs to filter out "inappropriate material" has bee criticised by Electronic Frontiers Australia.

"Waving the 'save the children' flag may be good politics, but it ignores serious technological problems which will likely cause the proposed scheme to fail," said EFA chair Dale Clapperton. "Furthermore, Australia is supposed to be a liberal democracy where adults have the freedom to say and read what they want, not just what the Government decides is 'appropriate' for them."

Clapperton went on to describe the proposal as "fundamentally flawed" and that it will make Internet access slower and more expensive.

"Unfortunately, ISP based filtering will not make the Internet safe for children, and may even cause harm in and of itself," he said. "If parents are deceived into believing that a 'filtered' Internet service is safe for children, they will be less likely to take sensible precautions such as supervising their children while they use the Internet."

The EFA also noted that child pornography is already illegal, and claimed the proposal would put Australia in line with nations such as Burma, China and North Korea that censor citizens' access to the Internet.