SH

Censorship and regulation of the internet and the digital economy in Australia are already the most restrictive in the free world, by a considerable margin, but the government now plans to implement the only mandatory internet censorship regime in the free world as well. With this running leap backwards in online freedoms, perhaps it's time to reconsider whether we really belong to the "free" world after all. As for the impact of previous internet censorship legislation? It just drove the economy overseas. We know the filter will be ineffective, but it will still slow the internet and raise the cost of internet services in Australia, and will drive the economy even further overseas as people open VPNs and tunnels to countries that actually respect freedom of expression. By all means, maintain an online presence (e.g. this blog), but the best thing you can do for the digital economy is keep your grubby hands off it.