Dion Heuzenroeder

The proposed mandatory filtering scheme will only serve to push Australia further backwards into a digital coma, and only result in disadvantaging unwilling businesses and end users. It’s a further slap in the face for rural users such as myself, who already suffer on the other side of slow and expensive connections.

There’s an embarrassingly endless amount of negative baggage that such a scheme imposes, too many to justifiably list here. At the same time, the filter serves nil to none in achieving its intended aim.

Little (if any) truly illicit content will be blocked. Legitimate sites will be incorrectly blocked, with little recourse. Another point of network failure is introduced. Network performance will decrease. Support costs for ISPs will increase, resulting in strain on broadband pricing. Any filter is easily circumvented via VPN or web proxy, even by young children. Any un-policed blacklist is wide open for government abuse, such as censoring of alternative political views. Parents are given a false veil of security. More capable free alternatives and client-side filters already exist. Funding is better spent elsewhere.

The government must realize 21 million Australians do not wear the same size shoe.