Helen Coonan, the minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, announced the initiative Wednesday. A representative of Coonan told ZDNet Australia that the first free filters should be available for download from a government portal within six months. <\/p>\n
“It puts a safer Internet experience within the grasp of every Australian family, and it is a solution to the problem posed by Internet pornography that is simple, safe, effective and free,” Coonan said in a statement. <\/p>\n
“Every parent will be able to receive a free filter for their home computer, (and) there will be child-safe terminals in libraries across Australia.” <\/p>\n
It’s likely that the Australian government will covet political mileage from the initiative, with the minister’s release tipping a “comprehensive national community education campaign” designed to “ensure that all Australian families are aware of the benefits of regulating their children’s Internet experience by using a safe and effective computer filter.” <\/p>\n
At this stage, no specific filtering software has been selected for the initiative. The minister’s representative said an accreditation process will be put in place. Internet service provider-level filtering will also be an option for customers of providers that offer it. <\/p>\n
“Under this scheme, families will be offered a filtered service or a free filter for their home computer, either for download from a dedicated Web site or delivered to them on CD-ROM,” Coonan stated. “All ISPs will also be required to offer filters to new and existing customers at no additional cost.” <\/p>\n
ISPs will be rebated if they choose to offer filtering at a service provider level. <\/p>\n
The government’s Internet safety agency, NetAlert Limited, will receive a $3.68 million funding boost and become co-located with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). <\/p>\n
Of the total spending, $68.69 million will be spent on filtering software over three year. Coonan’s representative says the program will be reviewed in its third year. <\/p>\n
According to the representative, almost no ISPs currently offer any kind of content filtering, so the government will study the feasibility of ISP-level filtering for a fourth time. <\/p>\n
Source: ZDNet<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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