The Australian government's penchant for online censorship is leading an Asia Pacific charge in the Web filtering market, according to IDC, despite ongoing Internet industry tension regarding its use.
At the centre of the debate are issues of privacy and censorship which Irene Graham executive director of Internet users lobby group Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) said have been glossed over by legislation which provides people with a false sense of security.
-The government is endeavouring to stop people doing what they want," Graham said. -However, I would question whether it has made any difference at all apart from provide a whole lot of publicity."
However, Helen Bassett, public relations officer for the government-funded body entrusted to spread the word about Internet filtering, NetAlert, said there is still a lot of ignorance when it comes to Internet filtering.
-Parents especially are asking for a lot more information in regard to the filters, but they don't want the government to censor the Internet," Bassett said. -They want to be in the position where they can make an informed decision about how they and their children use the Internet."
Although the Government legislation now requires ISPs to provide their users with web filters, industry pundits are refusing to be drawn on the uptake of the software. Most ISPs provide links to relevant websites and do not monitor the uptake apart from the initial click through rate.
However, one market which has experienced significant growth is so called Employee Internet Management (EIM) software, which IDC is forecasting will climb 68 per cent over the next four years.
Charles Heunemann, managing director of EIM software vendor Surf Control says the growth is largely due to a question of cost.
-One of the key drivers is employee productivity, and how much time employees spend on websites that are not related to their work," Heunemann said. -When companies have a look at how much time, bandwidth and money is being wasted they are quick to take up EIM software."
