[FYI] (Fwd) FC: Followup: Australians do not have to buy filters

["Axel H Horns" <horns@t-online.de>]

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent:      	Tue, 21 Dec 1999 18:07:21 -0500
To:             	politech@vorlon.mit.edu
From:           	Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
Subject:        	FC: Followup: Australians do not have to buy filters
Send reply to:  	declan@well.com

*********

From: "Dave McClure" <dmcclure@usiia.org>
To: <declan@well.com>
Subject: Response from Australia
Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 13:55:05 -0500

Declan:

As you may know, we have a strong affiliation with the Internet
Industry Association in Australia.  I sent the item on filtering to my
good friend Peter Coroneos, who represents the Internet industry in
Canberra as has been responsible for much of their saner legislation
there.

Here's Peter's response to the EFF hysteria about users being force to
pay for filtering software:

"This is deliberate misinformation - Australians will not be forced to
do anything of the kind. ISPs will be required to provide these tools
to end users.  They can charge if they wish, but indications are many
will be provided free. Users will not have to implement the filters -
that remains optional. The focus is on empowering end users. It would
be a different matter entirely if users were forced to use this stuff
as a condition of access. The registration of our code guarantees that
there will be NO MANDATORY BLOCKING of content in Australia - as would
have been the case had we not got involved. The IIA has published a
guide to end users on our site that dispels some of this garbage.  The
comment about 'secret lists' applies with any commercially available
filter products in the market right now. I would appreciate it if you
can circulate this information to the widest possible audience. Thanks
Peter"


His reference to their "code" is the industry code of practice, which
was accepted by the Government there as an industry alternative to
content blocking.  Hope this helps settle things a bit.  In
"registering" the industry code, the government codifies it under a
process they term "co-regulation."  Interesting way to do it - the
government cites a problem, industry finds a solution, and the
government then makes the industry solution law.  I often wish it were
that easy here.

Regards,
Dave McClure
US Internet Industry Association (formerly AOP)



----------------------------------------------------------------------
---- POLITECH -- the moderated mailing list of politics and technology
To subscribe: send a message to majordomo@vorlon.mit.edu with this
text: subscribe politech More information is at
http://www.well.com/~declan/politech/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----
------- End of forwarded message -------