Craig

I think that the concept of ISP filtering is ridiculous. There are computer based filtering programmes out there that do just as good a job of filtering than this will do and will not slow down the internet for everyone, hell even the previous government had one created (maybe this is the real reason they are doing it, they have to beat what there previous government is doing). For those people that are for this kind of internet filtering, i bet they are the ones that don't keep an eye on there kids when they are on the net and want someone else to do the job, they allow kids to have a computer in there room without really knowing what they are up to. This filter will not stop the potentially harmful things on the internet this filter is aiming at. What about things like P2P, etc, there are ways around what there main aim of this filter is for. And the stupid thing is that the people that they are trying to protect, the children are probably the main users of P2P systems. If the main aim of this filter is to stop child pornography, they are well from the mark. Any idiot with a phone line and computer and a bit of knowledge could setup a dial in service that is not connected to the net. All this is being done to filter out less than 1% of the net (which is the current estimate of what general pornography makes up). How much of that 1% is child pornography which is the main aim of this filter? And what about the other 99%, how much of that are they going to try and filter out? Control the masses by controlling the information that the have access to? How is this filter going to handle chat rooms? What is the Senator going to do about them? Are they going to be on the filter list? That might work for web based chats. What about other systems that use the internet like, IM, IRC, Newsgroups, BBS's, P2P, how much research have they really done? Do they really know what they are trying to achieve, or is this all some political stunt? Education is the key, not mass censorship, the money for this needs to be spent in a different area. Better investigation techniques and service, bring them up-to-date with technology. But especially, educate the masses, offer training courses for parents. Making people aware of the Internet and what is out there is better than mass censorship. I have taught computers to adults, and the first thing i teach about the internet is safety. Things like keeping the computer in a public room, get involved in what your children are doing on the net, get them to show you things about the internet, etc. Not watching them like a hawk, but glance as you pass, ask questions about there net friends, like how are they going etc. Just because it is "internet life" doesnt mean you shouldnt ask questions about it like you do about other aspects of the childs life, and that is probably where most parents make the biggest mistake, thinking "Oh, its only the internet". I have seen past students and they have commented on what they learnt, and how much more they are involved with there children now on the internet. They say that they have even sat down and spoken to there children about the dangers of the net, just like they did with "Stranger Danger." The students have also used the internet to become more familar with whats out there. They use education for other areas, so why not the internet?. If we apply his philosphy to other areas, we should ban cigarettes from being sold totally as they are harmful to children and adults, lets throw alcohol in there as well, cars too, they are harmful, maybe TV as well, don't they say stuff on TV can influence our behaviour, bicycles, children get hurt on bicycles, they should be banned, religion should be banned, people are always fighting over religion, if we ban it no-one will get hurt. What else can hurt us that we should filter out of society? Politics maybe? Books, they can give us ideas that could be harmful? We don't won't children jumping of roofs trying to be superman do we. Hell, lets just ban the computer and lock us all up in a room, oh hang on, wait, that could be dangerous as well. Politicians need to use common sense. But then since when did common sense and politicians go together?