Cameron Murphy, president at the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, believes that it's inappropriate for the Internet to be subjected to an additional level of censorship.
"What we need to be doing is working out a system where we provide people and consumers with information about the content and material--whether it's online or offline," Murphy argued.
Murphy thinks that there's a lack of understanding by legislators about the technology, and his concern is that by protecting minors or teenagers, the rest of the community could inadvertently be prevented from accessing information.
But Senator Alston, Minister for Information Technology, sees the report on the Federal Government's Online Content Co-Regulatory Scheme as highlighting the effectiveness of the legislation. "The Online Content Co-Regulatory Scheme responds to community concerns about the illegal and offensive nature of some Internet material," according to a statement issued by Alston's office.
Amongst the report's findings was that was an increase in complaints to Federal Government regulator, the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA), with 231 complaitns received between July 1 and December 31 last year.
Richard Fraser, assistant manager of content assessment section at the ABA, said it had received 600 complaints for the financial year ending June 30, 2002.
"As the take-up of the Internet grows I think people are increasingly becoming aware of the benefits, and the risks," Fraser said.
In addition to complaints received by the ABA, the Australian Federal Police investigated 93 items--which were identified as prohibited content--that were hosted outside Australia. State and territory police had investigated 20 Australian-hosted items, according to the statement.
The solution is simple. Supervise your children.
But if YOU cant be bothered doing something about, dont whinge and restricts everyone elses freedom.