Neutering the net is about repression, not protection
The Australian Federal Government wants to protect the children of Australia so their going to implement a big firewall to prevent the rug rats from being exposed to unsavoury material on the net. Yes you might ask “Isn’t that the parents’ responsibility?” but this misses the point. The real issue is shoring up support of the religious minded Family First Senator.
As well as blocking lots of adult content (legal or otherwise) deemed unsuitable for consumption by the religious right, what else will this firewall achieve?
Quite a lot apparently. It will slow down internet access in Australia by at least 20%. Of the six filters that the Government has so far reviewed five slowed internet speed by 20% and two of them by as much as 75%.
Given the already poor internet speeds in Australia, this will surely kill off a number of Net based industries in Oz and deter offshore companies from setting up offices here.
So to buy the vote of one, maybe two senators, the Australian Federal Government will spend 100’s of millions of tax payers money to buy something most Australians don’t want, that most experts agree won’t work, and in the process cripple the technological based industries in Australia.
Brilliant!
