The Bill, which is titled Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games)(On-line Services) Amendment Bill 2002 and was tabled on June 4, would make it illegal to supply to anyone material that is deemed unsuitable for minors.
It is very similar to NSW legislation, which the NSW Legislative Council's Committee on Social Issues recently recommended be appealed.
The bill has received wide opposition from industry groups. Peter Coroneos, chief executive of the Internet Industry Association, told ZDNet Australia the Bill was more likely to affect individuals than commercial entities.
"Most Web-based providers would be able to take protection against it. That reflects what's happening commercially now anyway," he said. "It would be more of a concern for individuals who wanted to distribute adult content."
"This means supply to anybody any matter unsuitable to minors, which is not the same as the real world. It appears to be setting a different standard to the offline world," Coroneos said. He pointed out that most providers of adult content are offshore, and would therefore be out of the jurisdiction of the bill and difficult to prosecute.
Civil liberties group Electronic Frontiers of Australia (EFA) has issued an alert about the Bill, claiming it raises serious criminal justice issues.
"The Bill should be rejected outright. At the very least, massive amendments are necessary to ensure that ordinary people who use the Internet to communicate are treated no less fairly under criminal law than offline commercial publishers," an EFA statement said.
Coroneos said that coregulation (industry codes backed by government enforcement) is a better approach to protecting children on the Internet.
"The best solution to protecting children on the Internet is the empowerment of families with tools and information, and parental supervision," he said.
Whatever you may think about this bill, read the text of the bill and make up your own mind!
On the one hand, it appears that it outlaws the publishing of anything unsuitable for minors and objectionable material that is refused classification or rated X.
On the other hand, there are defences for publishing materials deemed unsuitable for minors that do not apply to objectionable or X material.